Overview
- Trump announced on Truth Social that he accepted the WHCA invitation to be the honoree and will attend and speak on April 25 at the Washington Hilton.
- This will be his first appearance at the dinner as a sitting president after skipping every event during his first term and in 2025.
- WHCA president Weijia Jiang said the association is happy to host him and underscored the dinner’s focus on the First Amendment, awards and scholarships.
- The 2026 program replaces a traditional comedy headliner with mentalist Oz Pearlman, continuing a shift that followed last year’s cancellation of Amber Ruffin.
- Trump cited the nation’s 250th anniversary and repeated past complaints about “fake news,” highlighting ongoing tensions between the president and the press.