The White House Correspondents Association on Tuesday canceled the annual dinner celebrating their contributions to journalism.
In a letter to members of the White House Correspondents Association, President Jon Karl announced that it was impossible to hold the dinner this year, during the coronavirus pandemic.
“[A]fter consultation with medical experts, government authorities, and our own members, we’ve concluded that it is just not possible to put on the kind of dinner that promotes the best in journalism and allows our guests to comfortably and safely enjoy themselves,” Karl wrote.
Once a celebration of the elite corporate media in Washington, with members of Hollywood joining the festivities, the cultural significance if the dinner has dissipated since President Trump took office and turned down invitations to attend.
Saturday Night Live star Kenan Thompson was expected to do the keynote speech, but the coronavirus pandemic prevented the dinner from happening in person.
Karl said that the WHCA would continue exploring a virtual presentation of awards to various members of the association, bestowing scholarships, and “still enjoy a few laughs.”
Unfortunately, we must cancel the 2020 White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
We still hope to have a virtual event later this summer. But an in-person dinner simply is not possible.
Here is my note to @whca members pic.twitter.com/WwlNksM3Lz
— jonkarl (@jonkarl) June 23, 2020
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