Fewer parties, less glam as DC readies for ‘weird’ Trump 2.0 Correspondents’ dinner

The theme of this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner appears to be “less is more.”

As Washington gears up for the annual buzzy gala amid a touchy political climate, recession fears and sharp tensions between the press and the Trump administration, the District is going lighter on the glitz, dialing down the glam and cutting back on the number of related bashes in general.

A crop of Hollywood heavyweights typically fly into the nation’s capital for the weekend-long festivities, reveling alongside journalists, lawmakers and political figures. In recent years, VIP guests including Scarlett Johansson, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson, Kim Kardashian, John Legend and Brooke Shields have been among the crowds packed inside the Washington Hilton hotel’s ballroom to hear remarks from the sitting president.

The commander in chief is traditionally followed by a political punchline-filled set from a top comedian — Trevor Noah, Roy Wood Jr. and Colin Jost have headlined past WHCA dinners.

But Saturday’s dinner will be different.

Just as he did throughout his first term, President Trump — who frequently mocks the “fake news media” — has long planned on bucking tradition and skipping the extravagant affair, and recently announced a trip to the Vatican for Saturday’s funeral of Pope Francis.

The event, described by the WHCA as its “main source of revenue,” including for scholarships and “events and programs to educate the public about the value of the First Amendment and a free press,” comes at a critical time.

In February, the White House took control from the WHCA over which outlets are included in its press pool, including banning The Associated Press over its style regarding the “Gulf of America,” Trump’s preferred name for the Gulf of Mexico. A federal judge later ordered the Trump administration to restore the AP’s access to White House spaces. 

The White House earlier this month changed which outlets would be included in the press pool covering Trump, getting rid of the spot that had been reserved for wire services. 

WHCA President Eugene Daniels ripped the move, saying at the time that the Trump administration was “using a new means to do the same thing: retaliate against news organizations for coverage the White House doesn’t like.” 

“It’s definitely weird this year,” Julie Mason, who hosts an eponymous show on SiriusXM’s POTUS Politics channel, told ITK of the mood in Washington ahead of the dinner.

“Part of it is super amped-up because of the public consternation about the dinner — disproportionate on a regular year, currently at operatic levels,” added Mason, a longtime journalist who’s attended the gala 27 times.

The WHCA, which had announced in February that comedian Amber Ruffin would serve as its entertainer at the dinner, abruptly dropped the “Late Night With Seth Meyers” writer a month later.

“At this consequential moment for journalism, I want to ensure the focus is not on the politics of division but entirely on awarding our colleagues for their outstanding work and providing scholarship and mentorship to the next generation of journalists,” Daniels, who joined MSNBC last month, said at the time. Daniels didn’t respond to ITK’s request for further comment.

Mason expressed support for the move, arguing the media has to “advocate for ourselves and practice good news hygiene, and this year that means not positioning ourselves as the opposition or the resistance. It’s not our role.”

It’s not the first time under Trump that WHCA dinner organizers have opted to nix the traditional comedian host. During Trump’s first term in office in 2019, historian Ron Chernow headlined the dinner and delivered a defense of journalists.

The event also struck a more serious note in 2003 amid the U.S. invasion of Iraq that year, when “Georgia on My Mind” singer Ray Charles performed in lieu of a comic.

“Laughing away while a comedian savages the administration may be cathartic for many Americans, but it’s a bad look for the press in the current environment,” Mason said, adding that “the absence of the president, his administration and most celebrities make the dinner more intimate, manageable and First Amendment-focused.”

Since Ruffin was dropped from the program, GOP strategist Doug Heye said, “I haven’t heard much about the dinner at all.”

“The dinner has long received way too much attention in and out of D.C.,” Heye said. “Maybe less is more.”

“This dinner is about centering the importance of a functioning democracy,” Daniels said in a statement in February.

While some star power is still touching down in D.C. for the dinner — “The White Lotus’s” Jason Isaacs, Michael Chiklis, “Succession’s” Alan Ruck, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” actor Rachel Bloom and Marg Helgenberger of “CSI” are all expected to be in town as part of their efforts with the arts advocacy group, The Creative Coalition — it doesn’t appear a tidal wave of celebrities will be flooding Washington. 

Although in past years some news outlets pulled out all the stops with flashy festivities during WHCA dinner weekend, with widespread job cuts and declining revenue across the media industry, some companies might not appreciate the optics of hosting blowout bashes. And with JP Morgan forecasting earlier this month that the U.S. economy will enter a recession this year due to Trump’s tariffs, fewer glittery events are dotting the party scene than in past years.

But not all organizers are packing up their party hats: Some of the hot tickets this year include separate events from both United Talent Agency and Creative Artists Agency in Georgetown on Friday, the long-running Garden Brunch on Saturday afternoon ahead of the dinner, Time magazine and Mercuria’s celebration at the Swiss ambassador’s residence, the NBC News and Telemundo-hosted after party at the French ambassador’s residence and CNN’s “weekend finale” brunch at the British ambassador’s residence. 

But other parties that have become staples during WHCA dinner weekend won’t be happening this time around. Organizers behind the annual Bytes and Bylines event and the music-filled White House Correspondents’ Jam say they won’t be gathering for the dinner, not-so-affectionately dubbed “Nerd Prom” in D.C.

“We knew last fall we’d see an extraordinarily charged political climate this year,” said Dan Beeson, who coordinates the Correspondents’ Jam, which in the past has featured performances from the Rolling Stones’s Chuck Leavell and Kevin Bacon.

“The absence of The Jam amplifies the serious tone journalist-musicians are setting for this moment in press-presidential relations. Consider ‘25 a strategic pause — The Jam will return even stronger in 2026,” Beeson, of the boutique firm KWI Communications, said. 

“I believe what we’re seeing is an odd blend of tradition and transition,” Beeson said of the frame of mind surrounding this year’s dinner.

Mason used fashion to sum up the strange feeling surrounding the black-tie fete. 

“Here’s a vibe: I may wear flats this year.”

“Flats,” she repeated.