Inside the Beltway: White House Correspondent's Association dinner drama

There are still pre-parties and after-parties. A few scarce celebrities like Jay Leno plan to show up, while a noted historian will be the star of the program. A swanky hotel is poised to accommodate several thousand diners in formal wear. But oh, the drama, trauma and angst. Much coverage of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday night mourns the loss of the glitz and glamour which has been trademark of the annual gathering in recent years — mostly blaming it on President Trump[1]’s decision not to attend for the third year in a row. He will be at a preferred event: a jumbo campaign-style rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, which is so popular that the Wisconsin Republican Party reports they are getting calls from hopeful Trump[2] fans in Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois — all scrambling to seek entry. Mr. Trump[3] says the rally will be a positive and uplifting occasion. The press, however, appears melancholy. Or something. Here’s just a few sample headlines from recent days: “How Trump[4] took the shine off Washington’s glitziest night” (Politico); “Why Trump[5] loves to hate the White House Correspondents’ Dinner” (CNN); “The decline and fall of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner” (The Washington Examiner); and “How the White House correspondents’ dinner lost its sense of humor” (The Washington Post). Some will have none of this hand-wringing, though. Fox News late-night host Greg Gutfeld was not happy with CNN analyst Brian Stelter, who publicly criticized the president for not attending the “useful” dinner, saying in a recent broadcast that “we’re seeing this administration’s attack against the media. It takes many forms.” “So now, skipping a dinner is an attack on the media?” countered Mr. Gutfeld in an op-ed for his network, calling the meal itself an “orgy of self-congratulation,” among

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