Thoughts on the White House Correspondents’ Dinner

~ MaryG

I was planning to watch the White House Correspondents’ Dinner last night. I watched a lot of the pre-game, red carpet stuff on C-SPAN. The reporter kept asking people who they were wearing and it became so awkward that the anchor finally told him to stop. “This is Washington. Nobody has any idea who they’re wearing.”

I was wondering if maybe Trump was going to somehow manage to be charming in his speech. Highly unlikely, but still. And if he was going to be vile and awful to the press (as usual), I wanted to see him embarrass himself until I couldn’t stand it anymore and then go to bed.

After the chaos was unleashed, my first thought was that they’d obviously cancel the event. People in the room (including multiple pregnant women) had plunged to the floor and everyone was shaken. The fact that Trump wanted to carry on (“the show must go on”) seemed to be just another example of his complete disregard for others.

When he then held a press conference at 10:30pm and all the reporters showed up in their formalwear, I felt badly for them. If you had had a night like that, wouldn’t you want to just go home and go to bed? But no…they had to go back to the White House and listen to Dear Leader blather on about his ballroom and lie about all “the love” in the room. (Quiet, Piggy!)

Reporters are people too and I feel badly for them, especially the female ones. Trump treats them like shit. I felt especially bad for the WHCA President & Host Weijia Jiang who tearfully announced that Trump was insisting she reschedule the event within 30 days. (The Commander Commands and the People—especially the Women—Must Obey.)

And then, I just had to go online and see what people were saying. If I didn’t know better, I’d say that the entire country thought the event was staged. That was all I saw in the comments.

I’ve never been prone to conspiracy theories. (Typically, I mentally dismiss people who raise them.) But…maybe.

Could the whole thing have been staged? And if it was, why?

Our government is flailing, people. I grew up in this country and I’ve never felt like this about it before. The on again off again trip to Pakistan is just the latest example. What the hell are they doing? Do they even know??

We have now entered the Twilight Zone. That’s how I feel. Cue the music.

Honestly, the TV show Twilight Zone was a bit before my time. It’s more of a Boomer thing. I never actually watched it. But culturally, it has been referred to so often that I have a sense of it.

15 thoughts on “Thoughts on the White House Correspondents’ Dinner”

  1. I don’t know if it was staged or not, but honestly…. I wouldn’t put it past him. He hates those dinners and never attends, then all of a sudden he’s going and making a big deal about it. After the episode he’s saying this is why he needs a ballroom.
    His poll numbers are tanking, the war is going badly, his supporters are fleeing… but look at our brave President giving a press conference after an assassination attempt. Ugh.
    🤨

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  2. I have noticed the same thing. With such a serious accusation, concrete proof is needed. Theories are all very well and good, but where is the evidence? But your Twilight Zone comparison is oh so apt. What an administration!

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      1. Its the rot that’s been at the core of this nation even before the civil war. The rot that was allowed to survive after reconstruction, into the civil rights era, after the civil rights era. It’s the legacy of a system powered by inequity, racism, sexism, and bigotry. What we are witnessing now, is the waxing power and hopefully the dying scream of that rot.
        No longer hidden, the actors in this play are naked and exposed.
        What do we do about them?

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