Donald Trump Vs Media: Hullabaloo over not attending the White House correspondents’ dinner

US President Donald Trump has announced that he will not attend this year's White House Correspondents' Dinner. He will be the first President not to do so in 36 years.
White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told ABC's This Week, "This wasn't a president that was elected to spend his time with reporters and celebrities. I think it's kind of naive of us to think that we can all walk into a room for a couple of hours and pretend that some of that tension isn't there."

This move comes amid increasingly hostile relations between the media and the White House.The White House reportedly blocked the CNN, The New York Times and other outlets from an off-camera press briefing on Friday.
The President's speech at the CPAC last Friday was full of burns that ranged from his labeling CNN as the "Clinton News Network" to calling out the "fake news" media for using anonymous sources.
"I want you all to know we are fighting the fake news. It's fake. Phony. Fake. A few days ago I called the fake news the enemy of the people, and they are. They are the enemy of the people. Because they have no sources, they just make them up when there are none," President Trump said.
He added: "I am only against the fake news media or press. Fake. Fake. They have to leave that word. I'm against the people that make up stories and make up sources. They shouldn't be allowed to use sources unless they use somebody's name. Let their name be put out there. Let their name be put out."
Last week, President Trump's chief strategist Stephen Bannon said at the CPAC that the media's daily war against the Trump administration will continue unabated. "[President Trump] is going to continue to press his agenda as economic conditions get better, as jobs get better, [and] they are going to continue to fight. If you think they are going to give you your country back without a fight, you are mistaken. Every day, it is going to be a fight. The corporatist, globalist media is adamantly opposed to an economic nationalist agenda like Donald Trump has," Bannon said.
White House Correspondents' Association President Jeff Mason said the dinner would be held as scheduled and it was upto the President to come or not. In a statement he said: "The White House Correspondents' Association looks forward to having its annual dinner on April 29. The WHCA takes note of President Donald Trump's announcement on Twitter that he does not plan to attend the dinner, which has been and will continue to be a celebration of the First Amendment and the important role played by an independent news media in a healthy republic. We look forward to shining a spotlight at the dinner on some of the best political journalism of the past year and recognizing the promising students who represent the next generation of our profession."
The dinner, which started in 1921 and is set to take place April 29 this year, is usually attended by the President and first lady, the cabinet, and members of the press and even Hollywood stars. Proceeds go towards scholarships for aspiring journalists. Since 1983, the event usually hosts a comedian who mocks the President and other members of the press.
The last president to not attend the dinner was Ronald Reagan in 1981 - he was recovering from being shot in an assassination attempt. The last president to outright skip the event was Jimmy Carter, who did so twice - in 1980 and 1978. Richard Nixon also skipped it twice - in 1974 and 1972.
The White House Correspondents' Dinner has long been criticised by many organisations - including the New York Times - that say it allows journalists to fraternise with those they're supposed to criticise. Due to the Trump administration's fractious relationship with the media, that pushback seems to be stronger this year.
Several news organizations had already withdrawn from the April 29 event in protest of Trump's treatment of the media. The Vanity Fair and Bloomberg have cancelled their after-party while The New Yorker similarly canceled its pre-party April 28. Most other news organizations, including CNN, have yet to announce their official plans for the weekend.