President Trump Snubs White House Correspondent Dinner For Melania’s Birthday

President Trump has confirmed that he will not be attending this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

He did not attend any of these annual press dinners during his first term, and it doesn’t look like he’s planning on changing course during his second term.

However, instead of just skipping the dinner this year, the White House has allegedly floated the idea of holding a rival event to send a message, and that could end up being a birthday bash for our beautiful first lady Melania!

You see, the White House Correspondent Dinner is scheduled this year on April 26th — the same day as Melania Trump’s birthday.

🇺🇸 TRUMP GHOSTS PRESS DINNER TO CELEBRATE MELANIA'S BIRTHDAY

Trump just confirmed he's blowing off the press corps' annual black-tie gala, extending his perfect snub streak that began after Obama publicly humiliated him at the 2011 dinner.

The April 26 event was already… https://t.co/eRHLPXHk1s pic.twitter.com/vdVWfKKgmL

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) April 15, 2025

Axios reported:

President Trump will not attend this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, a White House official tells Axios.

Why it matters: The news follows speculation over whether Trump would attend the April 26 event after he broke with tradition and didn’t attend any of the dinners during his first term.

State of play: This comes as the White House and conservative groups have floated the idea of hosting a rival event on the same night as the dinner — potentially to celebrate First Lady Melania Trump’s birthday, reports Politico.

• Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt won’t attend the dinner either, she announced during a podcast interview last month.
• The White House official confirmed to Axios that Leavitt will not attend.

The Daily Mail added:

President Donald Trump has officially said no to attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

Axios reported Monday night that the president will skip the annual dinner, scheduled this year for Saturday, April 26.

The White House had been floating doing some kind of counter-programming to send a message.

In the past, Trump scheduled campaign rallies to take place during the dinner, which historically has attracted prominent media members and Hollywood stars.

The date of this year’s dinner is the birthday of first lady Melania Trump, so it’s likely the president will do something to celebrate his wife.

Since returning to the White House in January, Trump and his staff have been sparring with members of the press and blasting the White House Correspondents’ Association, which hosts the dinner as a journalism scholarship fundraiser every year.

So it’s no surprise that Trump said no – especially since he refused to attend the dinner during his first term.

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The dinner typically includes a comedy bit performed by the president – and then a roast – of the president and the press – by a prominent comedian.