--- description: President Trump will hold a rally in Pennsylvania to mark the first 100 days of his presidency on April 29, the same day as the WHCD title: Donald Trump Is Hosting a Competing Event With the White House Correspondents' Dinner image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt08f94f6c2eef2d00/6988c3eb7cdbac4139d5804f/donald-trump-tax-plan.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [White House](/tag/white-house/) ## White House Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # President Trump Isn't Attending the White House Correspondents' Dinner. This Is What He's Doing Instead  by [Alana Abramson](/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 23, 2017 3:05 PM CUT  US President Donald Trump speaks alongside Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni (L) during a press conference in the East Room at the White House in Washington, DC, April 20, 2017. US President Donald Trump speaks alongside Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni (L) during a press conference in the East Room at the White House in Washington, DC, April 20, 2017.SAUL LOEB—AFP/Getty Images  by [Alana Abramson](/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 23, 2017 3:05 PM CUT In another break with precedent, [President Trump](http://time.com/4751740/trump-100-days-health-care-bill-government-shutdown/ "undefined") is not only declining to attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, he won’t even be in the nation’s Capitol while it’s taking place. Trump announced Saturday he will be holding a [rally](http://motto.time.com/4527915/trump-pussy-grab-shirt-rally/ "undefined") in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to mark the first 100 days of his presidency on April 29\. “Next Saturday night I will be holding a BIG rally in Pennsylvania. Look forward to it!” Trump tweeted. > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/855816071663812608) The night of April 29 also happens to be the [White House Correspondents’ Dinner](http://motto.time.com/4653280/samantha-bee-white-house-correspondents-dinner-donald-trump/ "undefined"), an annual night of comedy that brings together the White House staff and the press that typically includes a satirical speech from the president. Since it was founded in 1921, the WHCD has hosted every President at least once. The last sitting president not to attend the dinner was Ronald Reagan, who phoned in after he was shot in 1981, according to [NPR](http://www.npr.org/2017/02/25/517257273/trump-will-be-first-president-in-36-years-to-skip-white-house-correspondents-din "undefined"). **READ MORE:** [The 2017 White House Correspondents’ Dinner Will Feature Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein](http://time.com/4730173/white-house-correspondents-dinner-woodward-bernstein/?iid=sr-link2 "undefined") Trump announced back in February that he [wouldn’t attend the dinner](http://time.com/4683002/president-trump-skip-white-house-correspondents-dinner/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined"), but, until Saturday’s tweet, it was unclear what his alternative plans would be. Jeff Mason, the President of the [White House Correspondents’ Association](http://www.whca.net/ "undefined") and a reporter at Reuters, said this year’s dinner will be a celebration of the First Amendment regardless of Trump’s attendance. “We will be celebrating the First Amendment at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner next week, and we look forward to doing just that,” Mason said after Trump’s tweet, [the New York Times reports.](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/22/us/politics/trump-says-he-will-hold-rally-while-skipping-correspondents-dinner.html "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4751756/trump-pennsylvania-rally-white-house-correspondents-dinner/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4751756/trump-pennsylvania-rally-white-house-correspondents-dinner/"},"headline":"President Trump Isn't Attending the White House Correspondents' Dinner. 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