Bloomberg cancels White House Correspondents Association dinner after-party

Bloomberg announced Friday that it would not be hosting a party after this year’s White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) dinner. The news organization will still send representatives to the dinner itself. From the Hill:

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“We surveyed some of the past attendees and didn’t get as much interest in a party this year as we’ve had in the past, so we decided to focus on the dinner and the WHCA,” a Bloomberg spokesperson told ITK…

Bloomberg traditionally hosts an exclusive affair immediately following the dinner, with tickets to the party considered a hot commodity even among Washington’s uber VIPs.

Earlier this month, the New York Times reported that the New Yorker magazine would not be hosting it’s traditional after-party. At the same time Vanity Fair, which has previously co-hosted an exclusive party with Bloomberg, announced it would not be hosting this year:

“We’ve taken a break from the dinner in the past,” Graydon Carter, the editor of Vanity Fair, wrote in an email, adding that he planned to spend the weekend fishing in Connecticut instead.

Mr. Carter, who has feuded with Mr. Trump for decades, was asked whether he had a particular reason for canceling this year’s festivities. “Trump,” Mr. Carter replied, “and the fish.”

So, if you had any remaining doubt, this should eliminate it. The press isn’t celebrating their status as White House insiders this year because President Trump doesn’t have them in a celebratory mood. Yesterday, Buzzfeed reported that CNN was considering skipping the dinner entirely:

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CNN is still actively discussing internally whether it will ultimately send staffers to the event, which is scheduled for April 29, according to one of these people.

“We haven’t made a decision on it yet,” a CNN spokesperson said.

The White House Correspondents Association released a statement today saying, “The WHCA board is protesting strongly against how today’s gaggle is being handled by the White House. We encourage the organizations that were allowed in to share the material with others in the press corps who were not.” The statement concludes, “The board will be discussing this further with White House staff.”

The WHCA dinner is scheduled to take place on April 29th at the Washington Hilton.

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