Opinion

WEISS: The ‘Cool Kids’ Are Skipping The White House Correspondents’ Dinner, And For Good Reason

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Adam Weiss Contributor
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The cool kids are skipping the White House Correspondents’ Dinner this year, and the media is outraged — even though they openly despise them.

President Trump is objectively a “cool kid.” He has the stunning wife, the beautiful property, not to mention he is the president of the United States. He attends the most exclusive and prestigious events — and the Correspondents’ Dinner, or “Nerd Prom” as it is referred to within the Beltway, just doesn’t make the cut.

Though the media attacks him relentlessly and has been openly cheerleading for his impeachment, they are doing an awful lot of whining about the fact that the administration is choosing to sit out their little party.

Instead of attending the elitist black-tie dinner full of self-important hacks, Trump will be holding a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, which will obviously be a more joyous affair than the Correspondents Dinner, which in recent years has devolved from the hottest party in DC to something people forget even happens.

CNN’s Brian Stelter declared that Trump and his administration members’ refusal to attend is “just another example of what we are seeing with this administration’s attack against the media that takes many forms. One form is the president having a rally Saturday instead of attending the dinner.”

Yet, while Stelter bellyached about Trump skipping the party, he failed to acknowledge the blatant abuse that White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was subjected to when she attended in good faith last year.

Previous administrations, including George W. Bush, were the butt of light-hearted jokes and teasing that was clearly meant in good fun. Even when the nation was up in arms over the lies involved with selling the Iraq War and his administration was the target of constant protests — the Correspondents Dinner remained the one night of the year when everyone could put aside their partisan differences and see the humanity in one another. It was a wholesome, bipartisan affair that the entire nation could enjoy, no matter their politics.

That has not been the case with the Trump administration. The media is openly hostile towards him and their jokes are malicious, cruel, and personal. Instead of being in on the joke, the new normal at this event is for people who dare to work in the White House to sit through cruel attacks and to be berated with a smile on their face.

When last year’s “comedian” Michelle Wolf took aim at Sanders it wasn’t meant to harmlessly roast her — she was trying to hurt her. Who can forget the infamous ‘joke’ about her makeup: “She burns facts and then she uses that ash to create a perfect smokey eye. Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s lies. It’s probably lies.” That wasn’t the only jab involving her appearance; she also compared the press secretary to the menacing disciplinarian Aunt Lydia in “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

The bullying was so sharp that even New York Times White House Correspondent Maggie Haberman took to Twitter to comment that she was impressed Sanders “sat and absorbed intense criticism of her physical appearance, her job performance, and so forth” without walking out.

There is a difference between a fun roast and turning someone into your punching bag, but the hatred from the media has turned the once beautiful annual affair into a toxic stew of anger and resentment. It isn’t fun, and it isn’t cool.

The cool kids made an effort to attend the Nerd Prom in good faith last year and they were subjected to cruelty. Why should they make the same mistake again?

Adam Weiss is the CEO of AMW PR, a New York political strategy and communications firm. His firm has represented Kimberly Guilfoyle, Judge Jeanine Pirro, Corey Lewandowski, David Bossie, Anthony Scaramucci and more.


The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of The Daily Caller.