Over 500 journalists urge WHCA to attack Trump at upcoming dinner

More than 500 journalists called on the White House Correspondents’ Association to “forcefully stand up” against President Donald Trump ahead of the rescheduled dinner on Tuesday.

“Our message to the White House Correspondents Association is now more urgent: Stand up forcefully for press freedom before the President, publicly defend the journalists he has attacked, and pledge to resist his administration’s concerted efforts to undermine the First Amendment.” letterRead the episode edited by former ABC News correspondent Lisa Stark and former executive producer Ian Cameron.

Journalists noted that the Trump administration’s attacks on the press have become even more “egregious” since the first White House Correspondents’ Dinner, encouraging members at the event to publicly condemn the president, who will attend the meeting.

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“We believe it is hypocritical to celebrate the First Amendment in front of a man who has viciously attacked it. We call on the WHCA to condemn the administration’s actions at the podium and pledge to combat any and all attempts by his administration to undermine this pillar of a functioning democracy,” the letter said.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the WHCA stood by its plans to host Trump while continuing to respect the press.

“We have the White House Correspondents’ Dinner because the First Amendment matters most when under pressure. As we continue to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, our choice to gather in the same room as journalists, news producers, and the president is a reminder of what a free press means to this country and why it must endure. Not for the media or the president, but for the people who depend on him,” the statement said.

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The original White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner ended abruptly in April when an armed suspect stormed the scene. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The letter was reminiscent of a similar letter published in April by more than 200 journalists, including former CBS News anchor Dan Pretty, who urged that the dinner party “cannot be business as usual.”

“We, the undersigned, call on the White House Correspondents’ Association to use the opportunity of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner to express strong opposition to President Trump’s efforts to trample on press freedom,” the open letter said. “The dinner has long served as a symbol of the vital and irreplaceable role of a free press in American democracy and a celebration of the First Amendment and the journalists who support it. President Trump’s systematic, sustained, and unprecedented attacks on the free press…make his presence at such an event a profound contradiction of his purpose.”

THE PRESIDENT OF THE WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCED THE EVENT WILL BE RESCHEDULED AFTER THE SHOOTING

The original White House Correspondents’ Dinner ended abruptly at the Washington Hilton on April 25 when an armed suspect tried to storm the event in what authorities said was an assassination attempt on Trump. The event was later rescheduled for July 24 at the Waldorf Astoria.

This year’s dinner was President Donald Trump’s first appearance at a White House Correspondents’ Association event as president. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

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This year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner marked Trump’s first appearance at the annual event as president, after previously skipping the event during his first term. He had previously attended the dinner as a citizen in 2011.