Trump Chickens Out On This Year's White House Correspondents' Dinner

Wow. Talk about thin skin.

Clearly the Trumpster, in a big departure from past presidents, decided he couldn't take the good-natured ribbing from the press.

OR - he wouldn't be able to stand up and deliver his own humorous remarks without failing.

The last time a sitting president did not attend was in 1981, when Reagan was a no-show. Of course, it was shortly after he had been shot, so he certainly had a good reason.

Before that, Richard Nixon was the last to just "no-show" and that was in 1972. And, like Trump, he had a very tumultuous relationship with the press.

From The Hill:

The dinner honors journalists who cover the White House and awards scholarships to aspiring reporters.

The White House Correspondents’ Association, which organizes the annual dinner, typically invites the president and members of his staff. A comedian is brought in to roast the commander in chief, who then delivers lighthearted remarks.

Trump attended the dinner in 2011, where he was repeatedly mocked and teased by then-President Obama. Trump chose to skip the dinner during the 2016 presidential campaign, despite receiving a number of invites from the media.

Past dinners have attracted celebrities and athletes from outside of Washington. The association hosted the first dinner in 1921.

Bloomberg L.P., who hosts a high-profile after-party, pulled the plug on the event. Vanity Fair, who usually partners with Bloomberg in throwing the party, announced earlier this month that it would not participate.

And the New Yorker, the magazine that hosts the dinner’s kickoff party beforehand, cancelled its event earlier this month.

CNN and MSNBC were also reportedly deliberating whether it would pull out of the annual dinner.

While most presidents have issues with the media, they rise above. President Obama was particularly funny delivering prepared jokes at the annual event during his 8 years in the White House.

The White House Correspondents' Association issued this statement: