Trump won't attend White House Correspondents' Dinner for third year in a row

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that he would not attend this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, and will instead hold a rally the evening of April 27.

Trump said the event was “too negative,” perhaps a reference to the scathing humor by last year’s featured comic, Michelle Wolf. Trump did not attend that dinner, either, but some members of his administration were there, including Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and were targets of Wolf’s humor.

This year, the White House Correspondents’ Association decided not to feature a comedian for the evening’s entertainment, and instead will have author Ron Chernow as a headliner.

Trump has not attended any of the dinners since he has been in the White House, although he did go in years past. In 2011, as Trump was in the audience, he was a target of President Barack Obama’s jokes that evening. Obama mocked Trump’s plans to run for president.