Trump announced his decision on Twitter late Saturday afternoon. The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA), which organizes the annual dinner, said in a statement the event will continue as planned on April 29 despite Trump's absence. President Trump announced Saturday he will not be attending this year's White House Correspondents' Association dinner, a break with past presidents. Please wish everyone well and have a great evening!" — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2017 
 
 The president's announcement comes amid growing tensions between his administration and the media, with several news organizations including CNN saying they may not participate in this year's event at the Washington Hilton. White House Correspondents' Association president Jeff Mason said in a statement that the group has noted Trump's announcement and is still looking forward to the April 29 dinner, "which has been and will continue to be a celebration of the First Amendment and the important role played by an independent news media in a healthy republic. “We look forward to shining a spotlight at the dinner on some of the best political journalism of the past year and recognizing the promising students who represent the next generation of our profession.” 
 
 Since Trump’s inauguration, calls to boycott the annual event have grown louder amid his increasingly fraught relationship with the press. Throughout his campaign, he regularly lashed out at the press, singling out news outlets as being “dishonest” and at one point barring The Washington Post from covering his campaign events. The New Yorker, the magazine that hosts a kickoff party before the dinner, canceled its event earlier this month, while CNN and MSNBC are also reportedly deliberating whether they will pull out of the annual dinner. Comedian Samantha Bee announced in January that she was planning an alternative event on the same night for “journalists and non-irritating celebrities from around the world.” (Its tentative name: “Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.”) 
 
 [How a journalists’ dinner became a celebrity blowout] 
 
 Questions about whether the dinner was appropriate existed before Trump took office. The White House Correspondents’ Association awards $100,000 in scholarships at the annual dinner, according to its website, and recently started a mentoring program that pairs working journalists with journalism students. The annual dinner began in 1921, and in 1924, Calvin Coolidge became the first president to attend the dinner. First lady Rosalynn Carter and Vice President Walter Mondale also didn’t show up that year, according to The Post’s Paul Farhi. He will be the first president to skip the dinner since Ronald Reagan in 1981, who missed the dinner while recovering from an assassination attempt, but still delivered remarks over the phone. Trump attended the dinner in 2011, where he was repeatedly mocked and teased by then-President Obama. “No one is happier, no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than the Donald,” said Obama, who ultimately released his birth certificate. “And that's because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter, like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?” 
 
 Trump brushed aside Obama's comments during an interview days later on Fox News.
– With trouble already brewing around the event—the Washington Post reports there were calls for news outlets to boycott, and several had already dropped out, according to the Hill—President Trump announced Saturday he wouldn't be attending the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner. "Please wish everyone well and have a great evening!" he tweeted Saturday. The event for the political press is typically headlined by the president. The tension leading up to this year's dinner, to be held on April 29, is not exactly shocking given Trump's ongoing war with the media. The Hollywood Reporter reports both Bloomberg and Vanity Fair had already canceled the afterparty they typically host following the event. (Meanwhile, comedian Samantha Bee is counter-programming the White House Correspondents' Dinner with an epic Trump roast.)