Over 250 former journalists urge the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) to strongly denounce Donald Trump’s attacks on the press during its annual gala, which the Republican president is scheduled to attend for the first time on Saturday. In a letter sent Monday to the WHCA, they urge the association to take advantage of the event to “firmly express opposition to President Donald Trump’s efforts to undermine press freedom.” The signatories, which include six groups of journalists and over 250 former journalists, including former anchor Dan Rather, express their discomfort with the planned presence of the current White House tenant at the WHCA dinner. President Trump, who has always boycotted the event, announced last month that he would attend this traditional gala celebrating the work of the press in a mix of official speeches and political humor. Traditionally, the sitting president also delivers a humorous speech. “The systematic, sustained, and unprecedented attacks by President Donald Trump on press freedom […] make his presence at such an event deeply contradictory to its purpose,” however wrote the letter signatories. “No American president has launched a more systematic and extensive attack on press freedom,” they denounce. “We are not in ordinary times, and the press cannot act as if everything is normal by standing up to applaud the man who attacks it daily.” They deplore frivolous lawsuits against the press, the arrest of journalists, bans on access for some journalists as reprisals, coercive regulatory investigations, cuts in funding to public broadcasters, personal verbal attacks on reporters, and presidential pardons granted to individuals who committed violence against the press. They provide evidence for these claims, listed over two and a half pages. Context: Former journalists are calling on the White House Correspondents’ Association to stand up against President Trump’s attacks on the press at their annual gala. Fact Check: This article covers the reaction of former journalists to Donald Trump’s presence at an annual event celebrating the work of the press and the concerns they have regarding his actions against press freedom.
