President Trump is once again trolling the media — and looking to turn tables on the big mockfest they had planned for him — by skipping the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Saturday.
Instead of spending the evening getting skewered by a hostile Fourth Estate and a politicized comedian, Trump has opted to throw a party of his own with thousands of his supporters in Pennsylvania.
He tweeted, “Next Saturday night I will be holding a BIG rally in Pennsylvania. Look forward to it!”
That means much of the elite media will have to hang up their tuxes and stilettos and head to the Keystone State.
Trump is again sticking it to the professionals who get paid to cover him, this time by denying them the opportunity to get dressed up and hobnob with their colleagues, and yuk it up at his expense. He’s fed up with their one-sided coverage, and he knows exactly how to hit them where it hurts.
“Over the years you make a mistake, I fully understand when they hit you, but when they make stories up, when they create sources — ’cause I believe that sometimes they don’t have sources, you know, the sources don’t exist,” Trump said in an interview with “Fox & Friends,” which came as he continued his verbal assault on the left-leaning press, calling news organizations like The New York Times, CNN, NBC, ABC and CBS, “fake news.”
Normally, the Sunday shows would focus on highlights from the dinner. Now Trump will own the news cycle. He’s kneecapped the event known as “nerd prom.”
At first glance it may have seemed thin-skinned of Trump to announce in February that he wouldn’t attend the dinner. But when he can’t even host the Easter egg roll without ridiculous coverage comparing his crowds to Obama’s, it’s hard to argue the point.
He’ll be the first president since Ronald Reagan to be a no-show — and Reagan bailed because he was recovering from a gunshot wound from a failed assassination attempt.
Saturday marks Trump’s 100th day in office — a key benchmark on the effectiveness of a new president.
But Trump will be able to command that narrative.
It would have been incredibly entertaining to watch Trump interact with many reporters and news outlets that he calls fake news. But it will be more fun watching him toy with them in Pennsylvania while they play to an empty seat.
