If I had been doing better at the pieces yesterday, I could have had this out before the dinner happened. But I didn’t, and it’s still funny, because it showed that a lot of people just … didn’t go, didn’t want to take the time to go, didn’t want to listen to Trump blather. These people are a lot closer to the action than I am, and Trump wears me down just writing about him. Imagine being in the press pool and having to listen to him All The Time. I wouldn’t last a day. With gratitude for Raw Story:
No one wants to go to President Donald Trump’s big Friday night party, according to a new report. The White House Correspondents Dinner is expected to have terrible turnout after a gunman stormed the last one and journalists report mounting weariness over Trump, Politico reported Friday. “Nobody wants this,” one White House reporter told Politico, speaking under the condition of anonymity, “other than Donald Trump.” Another White House reporter said they, too, would be skipping the much-hyped event. “I would go if I were in town, but I don’t know – it’s just exhausting,” they told Politico.
Exhausting to attend a Trump event? Oh, yes, we can certainly agree with that. Props to the journalists who manage to stay with him and tell us about it. That has got to be draining. And keeping it up day after day is likely more than the rest of us can do. But Trump wants his chance to get up and talk, thinking it will show him as strong for daring to go back in there. Yea, whatever, Donnie. Make yourself happy.
Among the reasons behind journalists’ decision to skip the event is Trump’s frequent attacks on the media, which include his administration issuing subpoenas to reporters, threatening journalists with jail time, and filing lawsuits against news organizations. One reporter described as a “prominent veteran journalist” told Politico that those attending Friday night’s event were “pretty unhappy about being there,” citing a growing “tension and unease” among reporters given Trump’s aggression toward media outlets. Beyond Trump’s hostility with the press, reporters also told Politico that events like “vacations, weddings and family commitments” were of a higher priority than attending the annual White House Correspondents Dinner.
Yikes!! No idea it had gotten that bad. What do you think if reporters just quit covering him and do other things instead? Would he be happy he didn’t have to speak to the press, or would he rage because he *wasn’t* getting any coverage? The man is so erratic these days it’s almost impossible to guess about *anything*. But there are times when someone doesn’t want to deal with something if they could get out of it, so they did.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Politico that Trump’s speech at the dinner “will be entertaining,” promising it will be “unifying yet vicious, and serious yet hilarious.” She also pushed back on the notion that reporters were skipping the event for any reason beyond scheduling conflicts. “Leavitt said the speech changed little from the version Trump planned to give in April,” Politico’s report reads. “He’ll address the original dinner’s events, she said, with a mix of gravity and humor. The White House expects most of the Cabinet and senior staff to attend; Leavitt said anyone missing has a scheduling conflict rather than a lack of enthusiasm.”
Suuuure KKKaroline. Whatever you say. She does so well at ignoring reality, but then she’s had a lot of practice. “Unifying yet vicious”? That doesn’t say anything that’s good. That doesn’t say anything we would want to hear. We all know Trump does *not* have a sense of humor. We can, therefore, assume it’s just going to be Trump being Trump. We all know what that is, and it’s a good enough reason to have a scheduling conflict, because otherwise, this time it’s going to be a waste of time.
See you soon!
Friends, I know everybody begs you for money. I promise you that, of all the outlets bugging you for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest-working. We’re a bunch of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. But the rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the ability to continue our quest to tell the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
