--- title: White House Correspondents Dinner Host is Author Ron Chernow description: "While I have never been mistaken for a stand-up comedian, I promise that my history lesson won’t be dry,” Chernow promised canonical: https://time.com/5458876/white-house-correspondents-dinner-host/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-11-19T19:17:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:56:07.241Z og:title: Here's the Host of the Next White House Correspondents Dinner og:description: "I promise that my history lesson won’t be dry,” he promised og:url: https://time.com/5458876/white-house-correspondents-dinner-host/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd049af634049ba66/69893f79656a3f8314bd604e/ronchernowwhitehousecorrespondentsdinner.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: "Hamilton" Opening Night Curtain Call og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's the Host of the Next White House Correspondents Dinner twitter:description: "I promise that my history lesson won’t be dry,” he promised twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd049af634049ba66/69893f79656a3f8314bd604e/ronchernowwhitehousecorrespondentsdinner.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The White House Correspondents’ Dinner Is Skipping the Comedy This Year. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Nov 19, 2018 7:17 PM UTC  "Hamilton" author Ron Chernow and the cast appear onstage at the opening night curtain call for "Hamilton" at the Pantages Theatre on August 16, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) "Hamilton" author Ron Chernow and the cast appear onstage at the opening night curtain call for "Hamilton" at the Pantages Theatre on August 16, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) Kevin Winter—Getty Images by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Nov 19, 2018 7:17 PM UTC Last year, comedian and former writer for _The Daily Show with Trevor Noah,_ Michelle Wolf received a wide array of criticism—and [a lot of praise](http://time.com/5259016/comedians-defend-michelle-wolf/), too—for [her controversial performance](http://time.com/5258942/michelle-wolf-white-house-correspondents-dinner/) at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. In her speech, Wolf made several pointed comments aimed at White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, including comparing her to _The Handmaid’s Tale’s_ terrifying Aunt Lydia. The speech ruffled enough feathers that the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) distanced themselves from the speech, saying it was “[not in the spirit](http://time.com/5259517/michelle-wolf-whca-dinner/)” of the group’s mission. For the 2019 gathering of reporters and White House officials, [_Variety_ reports](https://variety.com/2018/politics/news/ron-chernow-whca-1203032191/) the group is skipping the comedy and any potential controversy by asking author and biographer Ron Chernow to speak. Chernow is a well-respected presidential biographer who has covered the lives of George Washington, Ulysses S. Grant, and Alexander Hamilton, a work that inspired Lin-Manuel Miranda to create his Broadway smash, _Hamilton._ While Chernow’s speech will most likely not be as controversial as Wolf’s, he may ruffle a few feathers with his chosen topic: a free press. “Freedom of the press is always a timely subject, and this seems like the perfect moment to go back to basics,” Chernow said in a statement. He also hoped that while he has “never been mistaken for a stand-up comedian,” he hopes that his “history lesson won’t be dry.” Last year’s host, Michelle Wolf, took to Twitter to respond to the news: > [](https://twitter.com/michelleisawolf/status/1064559542808297472) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5458876/white-house-correspondents-dinner-host/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5458876/white-house-correspondents-dinner-host/"},"headline":"The White House Correspondents’ Dinner Is Skipping the Comedy This Year. 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