More than 500 journalists called on the White House Correspondents’ Association to “forcefully stand up” to President Donald Trump on Tuesday ahead of its rescheduled dinner.
“Our message to the White House Correspondents’ Association is now more urgent: forcefully stand up for freedom of the press in front of the President, publicly defend the journalists he attacks, and vow to resist his administration’s concerted effort to undermine the First Amendment,” a letter, organized by former ABC News correspondent Lisa Stark and former executive producer Ian Cameron, said.
The journalists stated that since the original White House Correspondents’ Dinner, the Trump administration has only become more “egregious” in its attacks against the press and encouraged members at the event to publicly condemn the president, who will be in attendance.
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“We believe it is hypocritical to celebrate the First Amendment in front of the man who relentlessly attacks it. We urge the WHCA to condemn the administration’s actions from the podium and pledge to fight all attempts by his administration to undermine this core pillar of a functioning democracy,” the letter read.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, the WHCA appeared to stand by its plans to host Trump while still honoring the press.
“The White House Correspondents’ Dinner exists because the First Amendment matters most when it’s under pressure. As we continue to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, our choice to gather as journalists, newsmakers and the president in the same room is a reminder of what a free press means to this country — and why it must endure. Not for the media or the president, but for the people who depend on it,” the statement read.
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The letter resembled a similar one put out by more than 200 journalists, including former CBS News anchor Dan Rather, in April urging that the dinner “cannot be business as usual.”
“We, the undersigned, call upon the White House Correspondents’ Association to use the occasion of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, to forcefully demonstrate opposition to President Trump’s efforts to trample freedom of the press,” the open letter read.
“The dinner has long served as a symbol of the vital and irreplaceable role of a free press in American democracy and a celebration of the First Amendment and the journalists who uphold it. President Trump’s systematic, sustained, and unprecedented attacks on the free press … render his presence at such an event a profound contradiction of its purpose.”
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The original White House Correspondents’ Dinner ended abruptly April 25 at the Washington Hilton when an armed suspect attempted to storm the event in what authorities say was an assassination attempt against Trump. The event was then rescheduled for July 24 at the Waldorf Astoria.
This year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner is the first time Trump has attended the annual event as president after previously skipping it throughout his first term. He previously attended the dinner as a private citizen in 2011.
