DC Press Elites Reportedly Go After Trump By Breaking a 140-Yearlong Tradition at Private White-Tie Dinner

A group of media and political elites in Washington took a shot at President Donald Trump by bucking a 140-yearlong tradition during a white-tie, closed-door D.C. dinner.

Multiple reports detailed the events Sunday at the Gridiron Dinner — an event which goes back to the 19th century in which heavy hitters in Washington media and politics gather and engage and take friendly jabs at one another in a convivial setting. Presidents have regularly attended, however Trump has not been at the dinner since 2018. And top members of his administration also boycotted the event.

According to one account of the proceedings, the attendees swiped at Trump by breaking a tradition that dates back to the event’s founding in 1885. Puck’s Dylan Byers reported those in attendance did not toast the president for the first time in the dinner’s history. Instead, the dinner guests toasted the First Amendment.

The New York Times reported further details from the event. Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) — the most prominent Republican in attendance — jabbed at Health and Human Services Secretary Robert

F. Kennedy Jr.

“I was also told Robert Kennedy was going to be here tonight, but unfortunately he couldn’t make it,” she said, per the Times “He’s got the measles.”

The Times’ Shawn McCreesh added some further details from the dinner:

“There were also skits.One song-and-dance number involved a man dressed as Mr. [Elon] Musk in his tech support T-shirt waving a chain saw around, singing about his turn toward the far right: ‘I’ll turn the G.O.P. into the AfD,’ he sang.One of the less successful acts centered on two men pretending to be the House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, and Mr. [Chuck] Schumer, the Senate minority leader, covered in leaves. “Lost in the woods” was the chorus. (“No one cares about your pronouns when you’re lost in the woods.”)Another number portrayed Mr. [Joe] Biden dressed as an Amtrak employee. It seemed to get a marginally better reception than the one with the leaves.Yet another featured a portrayal of two other high-profile Democrats, with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York fighting with Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. She accused him of being a MAGA adherent in disguise, and he accused her of being a communist. Another act had a mock Usha Vance singing about being a phony populist.”

Judy Woodruff, the president of the Gridiron Club who emceed the dinner, told Politico in a statement: “At most of the Gridiron

Club’s Spring Dinners, the President of the United States has spoken. In some years, the Vice President has filled in, and on occasion a high-level Administration figure. I invited the President, the Vice President, the National Security Adviser, and the Interior Secretary — all declined. I was told the Secretary of State would not be available. To close the evening — when the sitting President usually speaks — we showed video and audio excerpts of the past four Republican presidents, starting with President Trump in 2018. These demonstrated the good humor and fellowship this dinner is all about.”

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