The prospect of President Trump delivering a speech at this Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Association black-tie dinner — the first time he has not boycotted the event as commander in chief — has raised some uncomfortable questions within media and political circles.
What sort of message will this president, who has sued, threatened and demonized the independent news media, deliver when handed a microphone in front of hundreds of the nation’s most prominent journalists?
How will the Correspondents’ Association, whose mission is to support the First Amendment, respond to a president whose favorite form of speech is speech that is favorable toward him?
And which C-SPAN close-up reaction shots of guests like Wolf Blitzer will turn into memes the next day?
The televised dinner, held at the Washington Hilton, has been a cultural flashpoint before: Consider Stephen Colbert’s filleting of George W. Bush in 2006, or Seth Meyers’s 2011 riff on Mr. Trump’s presidential ambitions.
Usually, it’s the entertainer who is the most anticipated speaker of the evening. This time, it’s the president.