The White House Correspondents Association has dropped comedian Amber Ruffin from the annual dinner amid backlash over her recent comments about President Donald Trump and his administration.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich drew attention to the fact that Ruffin was scheduled to host — and that, during a Friday appearance on The Daily Beast podcast, she had referred to the Trump administration as “murderers” and had suggested that they should not be allowed to “feel human.”
“This year’s @whca dinner will be hosted by a 2nd rate comedian who is previewing the event by calling this administration ‘murderers’ who want to ‘feel like human beings, but they shouldn’t get to feel that way, because you’re not,’” Budowich posted, sharing video of the podcast. “What kind of responsible, sensible journalist would attend something like this? More importantly, what kind of company would sponsor such as hate-filled and violence-inspiring event?”
This year’s @whca dinner will be hosted by a 2nd rate comedian who is previewing the event by calling this administration “murderers” who want to “feel like human beings, but they shouldn’t get to feel that way, because you’re not”
What kind of responsible, sensible journalist… pic.twitter.com/tZCJS9fNOT
— Taylor Budowich (@Taylor47) March 29, 2025
WHCA President Eugene Daniels followed that with a letter on Saturday, stating that the organization would not have a comedian at the dinner at all in the interest of not contributing further to the politics of division. He did not clarify as to whether the White House’s complaint had played any role in that decision.
“As a first step, I wanted to share that the WHCA board has unanimously decided we are no longer featuring a comedic performance this year,” Daniels wrote in part. “At this consequential moment for journalism, I want to ensure the focus is not on the politics of division but entirely on awarding our colleagues for their outstanding work and providing scholarship and mentorship to the next generation of journalists.”
The WHCA also skipped the traditional comedic portion of the annual dinner in 2019, during Trump’s first term, after comedian Michelle Wolf trashed then White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders during her 2018 performance. “What’s Uncle Tom but for white women who disappoint other white women?” she said, among other caustic comments.
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[[{“value”:”
The White House Correspondents Association has dropped comedian Amber Ruffin from the annual dinner amid backlash over her recent comments about President Donald Trump and his administration.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich drew attention to the fact that Ruffin was scheduled to host — and that, during a Friday appearance on The Daily Beast podcast, she had referred to the Trump administration as “murderers” and had suggested that they should not be allowed to “feel human.”
“This year’s @whca dinner will be hosted by a 2nd rate comedian who is previewing the event by calling this administration ‘murderers’ who want to ‘feel like human beings, but they shouldn’t get to feel that way, because you’re not,’” Budowich posted, sharing video of the podcast. “What kind of responsible, sensible journalist would attend something like this? More importantly, what kind of company would sponsor such as hate-filled and violence-inspiring event?”
This year’s @whca dinner will be hosted by a 2nd rate comedian who is previewing the event by calling this administration “murderers” who want to “feel like human beings, but they shouldn’t get to feel that way, because you’re not”
What kind of responsible, sensible journalist… pic.twitter.com/tZCJS9fNOT
— Taylor Budowich (@Taylor47) March 29, 2025
WHCA President Eugene Daniels followed that with a letter on Saturday, stating that the organization would not have a comedian at the dinner at all in the interest of not contributing further to the politics of division. He did not clarify as to whether the White House’s complaint had played any role in that decision.
“As a first step, I wanted to share that the WHCA board has unanimously decided we are no longer featuring a comedic performance this year,” Daniels wrote in part. “At this consequential moment for journalism, I want to ensure the focus is not on the politics of division but entirely on awarding our colleagues for their outstanding work and providing scholarship and mentorship to the next generation of journalists.”
The WHCA also skipped the traditional comedic portion of the annual dinner in 2019, during Trump’s first term, after comedian Michelle Wolf trashed then White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders during her 2018 performance. “What’s Uncle Tom but for white women who disappoint other white women?” she said, among other caustic comments.
“}]]
