(AFP) – US President Donald Trump said Monday that he would attend this year’s White House Correspondents’ dinner for the first time as president. It is a major turnaround for a leader who regularly brands the news media “fake news” and whose administration has moved to curb press access.
“The fact that these ‘Correspondents’ now admit that I am truly one of the Greatest Presidents in the History of our Country, the G.O.A.T., according to many, it will be my Honor to accept their invitation,” Trump posted on his Truth Social network. Trump, who boycotted the glitzy annual event throughout his first presidential term and again after his return to power last year, added that he would “work to make it the GREATEST, HOTTEST, and MOST SPECTACULAR DINNER, OF ANY KIND, EVER!.”
The dinner is to take place on April 26. Trump’s administration has taken a number of measures against the media, selectively restricting access for news outlets that have fallen foul of his officials. In a break with precedent, the White House now chooses which reporters are in the press “pool” that has rotating access to the president.
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