Not that this should be surprising, but the White House Correspondents’ Dinner is officially postponed. Of all things, this is probably not a great loss.
CNN reports that the annual dinner was originally planned for April 25, but because of the coronavirus outbreak, it will be rescheduled for a yet-to-be-determined date. SNL’s Kenan Thompson was set to host, along with an appearance by Patriot Act’s Hasan Minhaj. Trump probably wasn’t going to show up, since he never does.
Last year, historian Ron Chernow hosted, after the White House Correspondents’ Association was so scandalized by 2018 host Michelle Wolf, they appeared to have deemed comedians too risky. In general, it’s not clear with the White House Correspondents Dinner exists at all, since over the last decade it’s become a weird celebrity event and celebration of access journalism, instead of a small dinner for reporters tasked with covering the White House.
This year, the WHCA had hoped to make a return to comedy, in order to lighten the mood. That’s definitely not happening now, and it’s unclear if and when it’ll happen again, though coronavirus killing the White House Correspondents’ Dinner is probably not the worst possible outcome.