The White House Correspondents Association on Saturday yanked comedian Amber Ruffin from hosting its annual dinner on April 26.
In a letter to members Saturday, WHCA President Eugene Daniels wrote that “the WHCA board has unanimously decided we are no longer featuring a comedic performance this year. 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.”
The decision to pull Ruffin reportedly came after White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich rose concerns about her past roasting of Trump.
In February she said “nobody wants” Trump to attend the event.
And on Friday, Ruffin told the Daily Beast she wanted to call the Trump administration a “bunch of murderers” but was being asked to tone down her material .
Alongside a clip of Ruffin, Budowich wrote on X, “This year’s WHCA dinner will be hosted by a 2nd rate comedian who is previewing the event by calling this administration ‘murderers’ who want to ‘feel like human beings, but they shouldn’t get to feel that way, because you’re not.’”
“What kind of responsible, sensible journalist would attend something like this? More importantly, what kind of company would sponsor such as hate-filled and violence-inspiring event?” Budowich added.
Trump, who skipped out on the dinners during his first term, calling it “so boring and so negative,” was unlikely to attend the dinner.
After Ruffin was pulled, the deputy chief of staff wrote, “No accountability at [WHCA] just a cop out statement—pathetic!”
The White House has been tweaking several provisions of the WHCA, which works to organize reporter rotations, seating charts and other logistical factors in the briefing room.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced in February the White House would be taking over the pool reporter rotation, deciding which reporters would have access to going on Trump trips and covering pooled-only White House events.
The White House has also banned the Associated Press from being a part of the pool rotation after the publication refused to use Trump’s mandate of renaming the “Gulf of America.”
