Latest news with #WHCD
Buzz Feed
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Buzz Feed
HuffPost Invites Workers Fired By Trump To The White House Correspondents' Dinner
Washington, DC — April 23, 2025 — HuffPost, the award-winning online news organization, has extended an invitation to three individuals who were fired by the Trump administration to attend this year's White House Correspondents' Dinner (WHCD) as HuffPost guests. HuffPost guests include: Rohit Chopra, former Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Hampton Dellinger, former Special Counsel of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel Andrew Bivins, former USAID Western Balkans Country Affairs Officer These individuals were removed from their positions under circumstances that underscored the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)'s hostility to oversight, transparency, and independent reporting. HuffPost's relentless coverage of the Trump administration has led to blowback from the White House, including HuffPost's temporary expulsion from the White House press pool. Despite these obstacles, HuffPost has remained steadfast in its mission to deliver unbiased, investigative journalism that holds those in power to account. Press Contact:
New York Post
29-04-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Cash-strapped Washington Post threw $1M brunch at ritzy DC venue during White House Correspondents' Dinner weekend: report
The Washington Post is facing fresh employee outrage after reportedly spending more than $1 million on a brunch at a high-end venue that charges $100,000 just to get in the door — despite the fact that the paper has imposed layoffs as it lost a reported $100 million last year. The Jeff Bezos-owned left-leaning broadsheet hosted an extravagant Sunday brunch at Ned's Club, a private venue with sweeping views of the White House and Washington monuments, according to the Status newsletter. Guests who were in town for the weekend to mark the White House Correspondents' Dinner were treated to lavish food spreads, including generous helpings of caviar, in a display that far exceeded typical WHCD weekend budgets, Status reported. 6 The Washington Post reportedly spent lavishly on a Sunday brunch over the weekend to mark the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Christopher Sadowski Ned's Club in Washington, DC, is an elite members-only social club located near the White House, offering opulent dining and exclusive access to its top-tier clientele. Membership starts at $5,000 annually with a $5,000 initiation fee, but the Founders tier requires a staggering $125,000 initiation fee and $25,000 in yearly dues. Dining at the club is equally lavish, with dishes like a $195 bone-in ribeye and caviar service starting at $150, underscoring the club's ultra-exclusive status among Washington's elite. While media outlets often spend between $200,000 and $300,000 on related events, the Washington Post's seven-figure tab was well outside the norm, according to the report. 6 The newspaper owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos lost $100 million last year. Bezos is seen right with his fiancée Lauren Sánchez. WWD via Getty Images The event has fueled growing unease inside the newsroom, where employees have been warned repeatedly about the need for belt-tightening measures, Status reported. Inside the newsroom, morale has hit a low point, with many staffers reportedly expressing frustration over what they see as mixed signals from management. While they are asked to accept budget cuts, hiring freezes, and the elimination of certain newsroom initiatives, leadership has simultaneously greenlit high-profile, high-cost events like the WHCD brunch, according to Status. 6 Ned's Club in Washington, DC, is an elite members-only social club located near the White House. The Washington Post via Getty Images A Washington Post spokesperson told The New York Post that the newspaper has a 'larger strategic partnership' with Ned's Club and that the brunch was designed to showcase the publication and its journalists for clients as part of its efforts toward 'modernizing' its events programming. The spokesperson declined to confirm the reported $1 million price tag. The Washington Post has been mired in financial difficulties over the past year, struggling with steep revenue losses and declining readership. 6 Membership starts at $5,000 annually with a $5,000 initiation fee, but the Founders tier requires a staggering $125,000 initiation fee and $25,000 in yearly dues. The Washington Post via Getty Images In late 2023, the paper revealed it had lost more than $100 million, prompting aggressive cost-cutting initiatives, including a major round of layoffs. In January, management culled nearly 100 jobs — constituting around 4% of 021the workforce. In early 2024, the paper eliminated approximately 240 positions, about 10% of its workforce, citing the need to realign with the harsh realities of the digital news economy. 6 Dining at the club is equally lavish, with dishes like a $195 bone-in ribeye and caviar service starting at $150, underscoring the club's ultra-exclusive status among Washington's elite. The Washington Post via Getty Images The financial turmoil has coincided with a wave of high-profile departures from the newsroom. Longtime executive editor Sally Buzbee stepped down last year amid reported tensions with CEO Will Lewis and concerns about the paper's editorial direction. In the fall, Bezos intervened to spike his editorial board's planned endorsement of then-Vice President Kamala Harris — a move which prompted tens of thousands of readers to cancel their subscriptions. Bezos earlier this year also moved to overhaul the left-leaning editorial page, which led to the resignation of its top editor. 6 Prominent mainstream journalists from outlets such as CNN gathered at the Washington Hilton for the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday. AFP via Getty Images Several Washington Post staffers resigned in protest over what they perceived as Bezos showing favoritism toward President Trump. Bezos, the founder of Amazon who remains the company's largest shareholder despite stepping down from the CEO position in 2021, received a phone call from Trump on Tuesday after it was reported that the e-commerce giant was thinking of including a line item highlighting a new tariff surcharge. After the phone call, Amazon announced that it was considering the move but that it ultimately decided against it.
The Independent
27-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Top D.C. journalist calls out colleagues for missing ‘cover-up' of Biden's frailty
A Trump-less White House Correspondent's Dinner (WHCD) was a night of both celebrating Washington's journalist elite and, for some, reflection upon the failure of the D.C. press corps to cover Joe Biden 's frailty throughout his presidency. The black tie dinner on Saturday featured no host after comedian Amber Ruffin was dropped from the gig only weeks in advance. The focus — beyond the usual party atmosphere — was the state of journalism under Donald Trump 's second administration at a time when the White House is exerting an unprecedented amount of control over Oval Office and briefing room coverage. Also in focus was the annual awards of scholarships to young reporters and recognition of some members of the press corps for coverage in 2024. ABC's Rachel Scott was the first to be recognized for her on-the-scene reporting of the Trump rally-turned-assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. But it was the award of the Aldo Beckman Award for Overall Excellence to Axios reporter Alex Thompson which provoked a moment of self-reflection for the attending journalists. NBC's Kristen Welker, introducing Thompson, quoted the Correspondents Association's judges to a crowd that cheered his name: 'Thompson's aggressive reporting ... revealed [that] the president's cognitive decline was impacting his ability to do his job, information the White House tried to conceal.' Thompson himself delivered a brief speech moments later. 'President Biden's decline and its cover-up by the people around him is a reminder that every White House regardless of party is capable of deception,' said the Axios reporter. 'We, myself included, missed a lot of this story and some people trust us less because of it." Members of the former Biden/Harris administration have faced tough questions about the extent to which Biden's cognitive decline was apparent throughout 2024 and before in the wake of the November election. Harris's brutal defeat across the battleground states followed a sprint to the finish line the vice president only began after taking over Joe Biden's place at the top of the ticket in July. The 46th president was forced out of the race after enduring weeks of calls for him to step down. In interviews, Biden has admitted that he is unsure that he was physically capable of serving another four years in office. But a disastrous debate in June at which he appeared soft-spoken to the point of whispering and at times seemed unable to follow what his opponent was saying triggered a series of calls for a new candidate from Democratic members of Congress terrified of polling that projected a bloodbath for the party in November. Now, the ex-president and members of his former team continue to face scrutiny over why they put up so much resistance to the president stepping aside and allowing a formal Democratic primary process to play out in 2024, while Republicans argue that Biden's frailties left him unfit for office entirely. Progressives, meanwhile, continue to fume at both their ideological rivals in the party itself as well as the mainstream media for allowing the concealment of those issues displayed by the president to persist as long as they did. Reporting from The Wall Street Journal in December of 2024 revealed that Biden's aides and campaign officials first began managing the perception of his stamina and physical capabilities in 2020, when he came from behind after a victory in South Carolina to win the Democratic primary, buoyed in part by a consolidation of support around him. Thompson, for his part, reported in late June of 2024: 'From 10am to 4pm, Biden is dependably engaged — and many of his public events in front of cameras are held within those hours.' 'Outside of that time range or while traveling abroad, Biden is more likely to have verbal miscues and become fatigued.' The Biden campaign would go on to use the latter reason as an excuse for his disappointing debate performance. But many Democrats (both Biden loyalists and others in the party) continue to feel betrayed and let down by the manner by which Biden was forced to step aside and, in general, the urgency with which the party treated Donald Trump's third presidential campaign.
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Top D.C. journalist calls out colleagues for missing ‘cover-up' of Biden's frailty
A Trump-less White House Correspondent's Dinner (WHCD) was a night of both celebrating Washington's journalist elite and, for some, reflection upon the failure of the D.C. press corps to cover Joe Biden's frailty throughout his presidency. The black tie dinner on Saturday featured no host after comedian Amber Ruffin was dropped from the gig only weeks in advance. The focus — beyond the usual party atmosphere — was the state of journalism under Donald Trump's second administration at a time when the White House is exerting an unprecedented amount of control over Oval Office and briefing room coverage. Also in focus was the annual awards of scholarships to young reporters and recognition of some members of the press corps for coverage in 2024. ABC's Rachel Scott was the first to be recognized for her on-the-scene reporting of the Trump rally-turned-assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. But it was the award of the Aldo Beckman Award for Overall Excellence to Axios reporter Alex Thompson which provoked a moment of self-reflection for the attending journalists. NBC's Kristen Welker, introducing Thompson, quoted the Correspondents Association's judges to a crowd that cheered his name: 'Thompson's aggressive reporting ... revealed [that] the president's cognitive decline was impacting his ability to do his job, information the White House tried to conceal.' Thompson himself delivered a brief speech moments later. 'President Biden's decline and its cover-up by the people around him is a reminder that every White House regardless of party is capable of deception,' said the Axios reporter. 'We, myself included, missed a lot of this story and some people trust us less because of it." Members of the former Biden/Harris administration have faced tough questions about the extent to which Biden's cognitive decline was apparent throughout 2024 and before in the wake of the November election. Harris's brutal defeat across the battleground states followed a sprint to the finish line the vice president only began after taking over Joe Biden's place at the top of the ticket in July. The 46th president was forced out of the race after enduring weeks of calls for him to step down. In interviews, Biden has admitted that he is unsure that he was physically capable of serving another four years in office. But a disastrous debate in June at which he appeared soft-spoken to the point of whispering and at times seemed unable to follow what his opponent was saying triggered a series of calls for a new candidate from Democratic members of Congress terrified of polling that projected a bloodbath for the party in November. Now, the ex-president and members of his former team continue to face scrutiny over why they put up so much resistance to the president stepping aside and allowing a formal Democratic primary process to play out in 2024, while Republicans argue that Biden's frailties left him unfit for office entirely. Progressives, meanwhile, continue to fume at both their ideological rivals in the party itself as well as the mainstream media for allowing the concealment of those issues displayed by the president to persist as long as they did. Reporting from The Wall Street Journal in December of 2024 revealed that Biden's aides and campaign officials first began managing the perception of his stamina and physical capabilities in 2020, when he came from behind after a victory in South Carolina to win the Democratic primary, buoyed in part by a consolidation of support around him. Thompson, for his part, reported in late June of 2024: 'From 10am to 4pm, Biden is dependably engaged — and many of his public events in front of cameras are held within those hours.' 'Outside of that time range or while traveling abroad, Biden is more likely to have verbal miscues and become fatigued.' The Biden campaign would go on to use the latter reason as an excuse for his disappointing debate performance. But many Democrats (both Biden loyalists and others in the party) continue to feel betrayed and let down by the manner by which Biden was forced to step aside and, in general, the urgency with which the party treated Donald Trump's third presidential campaign.
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
White House Correspondents' Dinner Flies First Amendment Flag High Even With Trump Snub, Few Hollywood Power Players In Attendance
A chorus line of past presidents from past years showed up via old video to give an edited mash-up speech, but there was no current POTUS, no VP, no roast by a comedian and few Hollywood power players at the White House Correspondents' Dinner tonight in Washington DC. Yet, with Donald Trump still yet to make his WHCD debut as president, White House Correspondence Association president Eugene Daniels had no intention of burying the lede Saturday of the barricades up between the current White House and institutional media in America. 'We journalists are a lot of things,' Daniels exclaimed to a standing ovation in his closing remarks on this 96th day of the Imperial Presidency of Trump 2.0. 'What we are not is the opposition. What we are not is the enemy of the people, and what we are not is the enemy of the state.' More from Deadline Mike Myers Opens Up About His 'SNL' Protest In Support Of Canada: "Came From My Heart, And It Was Not About Me" 'SNL' Stars Say 50th Anniversary Was Like "Building Up To A Wedding" - Contenders TV: Documentary, Unscripted & Variety 'The Daily Show' Is In "Game Shape" To Deal With Political Carnage - Contenders TV: Documentary, Unscripted & Variety Ending the WHCD earlier than in past years, Daniels opened his comments by addressing the elephant not in the Washington Hilton ballroom: 'Every year we invite the president to this dinner. For decades, presidents on both sides of the political spectrum get gussied up and join us. I want to be clear about something, we don't invite presidents of the United States to this because it's for them. We don't invite them because we want to cozy up to them or curry favor. We don't only extend invites to the presidents who say they love journalists or who say they are defenders of the First Amendment in a free press. We invite them to remind them that they should be. We invite them to demonstrate that those of us who have chosen the public service of journalism aren't doing it because we love flights on Air Force One or walking into the Oval Office. It is to remind them why a strong Fourth Estate is essential for democracy.' Still, while CAA and UTA had parties this weekend as the First Amendment celebrating WHCD hit its 104th anniversary, the so-called Nerd Prom 2025 did lack the usual cadre of Oscar winners, Emmy winners and legion of the deep pocketed Beverly Hills donor class. Yes, White Lotus Season 3's Jason Issacs was at the WHCD, as was the OG Wonder Woman Lynda Carter, Emmy winner Alex Borstein and The Shield alum Michael Chiklis. And yes, the cable, network print and online media elite (including Deadline's DC Bureau chief Ted Johnson) were in the house, along with besieged NYC Mayor Eric Adams. Even with short lived ex-White House press secretary Sean Spicer and CNN vet Frank Sesno holding down the fort on the occasionally technically challenged C-SPAN, and MSNBC broadcasting the gathering entrée to dessert with commentary from Molly Jong-Fast and others, the vibe was very low-key. Low-key, but perhaps no less poignant compared to past years, with or without Trump in attendance 'I know this has been an extremely difficult year for all,' a distinctly understated WHCA boss and MSNBC host Daniels told the well-heeled crowd at the top of the 2025's WHCD. 'It's been difficult for this association. We've been tested, attacked.' Certainly Trump 2.0 has seen the WHCA stripped of its pool rotation power, the Associated Press cast out from covering White House events, and the briefing room hierarchy overturned. With the free press and the rule of law under threat from Trump now, the WHCA did itself no favors hiring Amber Ruffin to provide comic relief and then unceremoniously dumping the Have I Got News For You regular. The lack of a muscular public reaction to the AP being under fire from the Trump team has also exposed divisions in the WHCA. Still, even with C-SPAN cameras going to Yamiche Alcindor thinking the NBC News reporter was The Grio's April Ryan, tonight was, as Daniels said onstage 'just us.' In that excellence and honestly in journalism over the past year was centerstage. The award and scholarship portions of the evening began with ABC News' Rachel Scott recognized for her coverage of the assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, PA with the Award for Excellence in Presidential News Coverage Under Deadline Pressure. (See the full list of WHCD Award winners here) Looking at the big story standing in front of the media during the last administration, there was a rebuke of journalists covering the Executive Mansion tonight from Axios' Alex Thompson. While praising the work of the WHCA, the Constitution and plugging his upcoming book co-written with CNN's Jake Tapper, Aldo Beckman Award for Overall Excellence in White House Coverage winner Thompson noted the declining trust in the media. More specific to the ballroom crowd, Thompson also addressed the failure of many in the room to be honest with themselves and the public about the extent of the 'deception' of Joe Biden's cognitive decline and the 'cover-up' of the octogenarian 46th POTUS's health by his aides and supporters up until that disastrous debate last year. Then still a candidate for reelection, President Biden attended and glowingly spoke of the power of a free press in 2024 at the WHCD. Offering kudos to Biden for being a 'good man,' SNL Weekend Update co-anchor Colin Jost was the after-POTUS comedian. At the same time, with POTUS just back from Pope Francis' funeral and up at his New Jersey estate, the MAGA crowd this year were holding their own shindig across town at the Willard Hotel. The meet-up was the debut of the Donald Trump Jr co-founded Executive Branch private club. Unlike the WHCD, Executive Branch's $100,000 membership fee is intended to keep its goings-on far from the eyes of the press. In that context, an immediately acclaimed speech by outgoing WHCA leader Daniels summed up the state of the media in America by evoking the months the Wall Street Journal's Evan Gershkovich spent behind bars in Russia and added that 'attacks on journalists don't stop at our borders.' 'Every single day, journalists in this country face threats of intimidation, lawsuits and violence,' Daniels said, showing up in many ways as the surprise guest the WHCA had promised for the WHCD. 'Those attacks are meant to do one thing, stop us from sharing the truth with the people. To our friends at the Associated Press. You have taken on more than you should have to but what you have held firm to from the very beginning is that your fight is not about you. It's about the ability of every single person in this room to make free and independent editorial decisions without government interference.' A very public club and proof the WHCD doesn't need a POTUS to own the night in DC. Best of Deadline Everything We Know About The 'Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping' Movie So Far Everything We Know About Netflix's 'The Thursday Murder Club' So Far TV Show Book Adaptations Arriving In 2025 So Far
