The White House Correspondents Dinner is one of the most anticipated annual events on the calendar in Washington, as members of the media get to mingle and let their hair down for one night. Many times in the past, the President of the United States has attended the soiree and delivered a series of half-hearted jests aimed at attending reporters. Donald Trump, however, is not “most” Presidents; he has notoriously ditched the event to avoid a press corps that routinely attacks him. This year, however, Trump will be dusting off the black tie and tuxedo to attend the gathering, which should make the night anywhere from interesting to uncomfortable for attending members of the fourth estate.
710 WOR White House correspondent Jon Decker understands the hype and the hoopla of the last Saturday in April very well, as he will be attending his 30th White House Correspondents Dinner; he appeared on 710 WOR’s Curtis Sliwa and Larry Mendte in the Morning program to discuss what should be the most anticipated dinner of the year in the nation’s capital.
Mentalist Oz Pearlman is the scheduled entertainment, but Decker says he’s really just the second billing to the headlining Trump: “There’s a lot of buzz because the President will be there, and my understanding is that, after he makes his remarks, he’s out of there. He’s not sticking around for any of the program that will take place at the Washington Hilton. I think he just wants to say his piece… This is his opportunity to call out various news organizations that he believes have been unfair to him in their coverage of him and his administration.”
Decker also commented on the recent ethical shenanigans that have forced the resignations of Eric Swalwell, Tony Gonzales and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick from Congress and how their actions could reshape the House: “We could see further members kicked out of Congress, or forced out of Congress, over the course of the next few weeks or next few months… We’ll just have to wait and see what the make-up of Congress looks like, when we get around to the mid-term elections to see how much that margin that Republicans have and are trying to hold onto will be when we get to November.”
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