April 20 (UPI) — A coalition of journalists called on the White House Correspondents’ Association to push back on President Donald Trump’s attacks on the press ahead of his attendance at Saturday’s correspondents’ dinner.
Several national journalists’ organizations, including the Society of Professional Journalists and the National Association of Black Journalists, have signed a letter urging the association to show opposition to Trump’s attacks on the free press, some of which are outlined in the letter.
More than 250 former broadcast journalists also signed the letter, including Ann Curry, Dan Rather and Sam Donaldson.
“We, the undersigned, call upon the White House Correspondents’ Association to use the occasion of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner to forcefully demonstrate opposition to President Trump’s efforts to trample freedom of the press,” the letter reads.
“We also urge the WHCA to reaffirm, without equivocation, that freedom of the press is not a partisan issue and that the Association will not normalize this behavior but instead fight back against any officeholder who has waged systematic war against the journalists whose work the dinner celebrates.”
The White House Correspondents’ Association said in a statement that it was “happy” Trump accepted the invitation to attend.
Trump has sued a litany of media organizations ahead of and following the 2024 presidential election, including ABC News, CBS News, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner will be the first Trump has attended as the sitting president. He posted on social media that he has boycotted the event every other year he was in office because “the Press was extraordinarily bad to me.”
First lady Melania Trump will also be in attendance for the first time.
The White House Correspondents’ Association was founded in 1914 to promote the interests of the reporters that cover the White House. The White House Correspondents’ Dinner was first held in 1920 to celebrate the work of White House reporters and the freedom of the press. Calvin Coolidge was the first president to attend the dinner in 1924.
“There is a long tradition of presidents attending the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner,” the letter from the coalition of journalists said. “But these are not normal times and this cannot be business as usual with the press standing up to applaud the man who attacks them on a daily basis.”