More than 500 journalists are urging the WHCA to attack Trump at an upcoming dinner
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More than 500 reporters called on the White House Correspondents’ Association to “stand up forcefully” against President Donald Trump on Tuesday ahead of the postponed dinner.
“Our message to the White House Correspondents’ Association is now more urgent: vigorously stand up for press freedom before the President, publicly defend the journalists he attacks, and vow to resist his concerted efforts to undermine the First Amendment,” the letter, edited by former ABC News reporter Lisa Stark and former executive producer Ian Cameron, read.
Journalists pointed out that since the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, the Trump administration has become “vicious” in its attacks on the media and encouraged members of the event to publicly criticize the incoming president.
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The letter is similar to what reporters said before the inaugural White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in April. (Andrew Leyden/Getty Images)
“We believe it is hypocritical to celebrate the First Amendment in front of someone who relentlessly attacks it. We urge the WHCA to condemn the actions of the administration on the platform and commit to fighting all efforts by their administration to undermine this cornerstone of a functioning democracy,” the letter reads.
In a statement sent to Fox News Digital, the WHCA appeared to stand by its plans to host Trump while still respecting the media.
“The White House Correspondents’ Dinner exists because the First Amendment is most important when under pressure. As we continue to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, our choice to come together as reporters, the media and the president in one room is a reminder of what a free press means in this country – and why it must endure. Not to the media or the president, but to the people who read it,” the statement said.
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The inaugural White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner ended abruptly in April after an armed suspect stormed the scene. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The letter echoes one from more than 200 reporters, including former CBS news anchor Dan Rather, who urged in April that the dinner “cannot be business as usual.”
“We, the undersigned, are asking the White House Correspondents’ Association to use the event of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, to show strong opposition to President Trump’s efforts to trample press freedom,” the open letter reads. “The dinner has long served as a symbol of the vital and irreplaceable role of free radio in American democracy and a celebration of the First Amendment and the journalists who support it. President Trump’s systematic, sustained, and unprecedented attack on the free press … gives his presence at such an event a profound contradiction of its purpose.”
THE PRESIDENT OF THE ASSOCIATION OF HOLY PRESS ANNOUNCES THE EVENT TO BE POSTPONED AFTER THE SHOOTING.
The inaugural White House Correspondents’ Dinner ended abruptly on April 25 at the Washington Hilton when an armed suspect attempted to storm the event in what authorities say was an assassination attempt on Trump. The event was then postponed to July 24 at the Waldorf Astoria.
This year’s dinner is the first time President Donald Trump has attended a White House Correspondents’ Association event as president. (Mandel Ngan / AFP via Getty Images)
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The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is the first time Trump has attended the annual event as president after skipping it earlier in his first term. He previously attended the dinner as a private citizen in 2011.
