On Friday’s Morning Joe, the hosts of this system mentioned the prospects of Saturday’s White Home Correspondents’ Dinner. Co-host Jonathan Lemire took problem with the attendance of President Trump, as he known as the occasion “very problematic” and “incongruous” throughout a dialogue with MS NOW’s reporter Fallon Gallagher and analyst Eugene Robinson on the dynamics of the occasion amid the press’s battles with the president.
This system’s predominant stars, Joe Scarborough and Willie Geist, additionally made a slight point out of the dinner on the very begin of the present as Scarborough in contrast Trump’s attendance on the dinner to the ending scene of It’s a Great Life and known as the occasion a “hoot”:
I form of have a look at it as the identical form of like the tip of It is a Great Life, the place all people – he will get Zuzu’s petals and so they get across the Christmas tree, and so they’re singing all of the issues. I imply, that is going to be a hoot, although. The president getting along with a gaggle of people who he loves and admires as a lot as he loves and admires the press.
However within the 9 a.m. hour, the present began to actually take problem with the dinner. The phase was launched with Gallagher, who wrote a bit on MS NOW’s web site titled “Guess who’s coming to dinner? The man you’ll see in court docket.”
Friday’s Morning Joe took problem with Trump’s attendance on the WHCA Dinner, as Jonathan Lemire known as the dinner “very problematic,” and Eugene Robinson pledged to not attend.
Lemire additionally stated there needs to be no extra WHCA dinners, as he known as this yr’s occasion “deeply fraught.” pic.twitter.com/MwfETt7MvP
— Nick (@nspin310) April 24, 2026
Gallagher questioned if Trump would “roast” the press or himself, however made positive to name the dinner awkward as “the president is battling with the press corps in courtrooms, not spending time with them in eating rooms.”
Gallagher went by means of some Trump phrases and lawsuits towards the press. She determined to quote the case of Don Lemon and his alleged function within the storming of a Minnesota church amid the winter unrest because the “largest assault”:
However then, most notably, the largest assault that we have seen legally from the president and this administration in direction of the press was, in fact, the indictment of journalist Don Lemon and Georgia Fort for his or her function in protecting an anti-ICE protest in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
After she known as the dinner a attainable “detente,” the panel laughed at her as Lemire took it to a severe stage, and appeared visibly upset on the Trump attendance and took some problem with the WHCA:
I will go the opposite method on that. Fallon. I believe that, initially, it is a actually essential listing. I am glad you raised it. I believe way more doubtless that President Trump goes to take some form of victory lap at this dinner, which I’d argue is a really problematic dinner.
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And Eugene Robinson, look, I am a proud member of the White Home Correspondents Affiliation, which does unimaginable work. And the dinner does increase cash for scholarships for journalists. We are able to try this one other method. I believe that this dinner, the time for this dinner expired, I’d argue way back, and significantly this yr. It’s deeply fraught.
Robinson stated he would skip the dinner occasions of the weekend as a result of it appears too awkward amid a “conflict” on the press:
There’s this particular conflict occurring between the free press, which is enshrined within the First Modification, and this president. And it simply strikes me as inappropriate, awkward, and I do not see what good goes to come back from this. We’ll see, you understand.
After Robinson requested Gallagher with fear about potential feedback and jokes by the president on the dinner, as Gallagher questioned if “the roast is extra on the assault finish of the spectrum,” Lemire ended with some extra pretentious feedback:
Nevertheless it does appear to be form of an incongruous celebration of the First Modification with somebody who’s proscribing press entry repeatedly.
Lemire and a few others within the press appeared a bit too upset and impacted by the attendance of the elected President of the US, somebody whom they’re paid to cowl, at a dinner.
The transcript is under. Click on “broaden”:
MS NOW’s Morning Joe
April 24, 2026
6:01:35 AM Japanese
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JOE SCARBOROUGH: “Wow. I let you know, tomorrow night time’s White Home Correspondents Dinner, Willie, I form of have a look at it as the identical form of like the tip of It is a Great Life, the place all people – he will get Zuzu’s petals and so they get across the Christmas tree, and so they’re singing all of the issues. I imply, that is going to be a hoot, although. The president getting along with a gaggle of people who he loves and admires as a lot as he loves and admires the press.
WILLIE GEIST: Deep respect, and so many members of his cupboard who share his respect for the press, will likely be seated on the desk within the room that night time.
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9:24:32 AM Japanese
JONATHAN LEMIRE: So, President Trump has dinner plans tomorrow night time with an unlikely group of tablemates. For the primary time in both of his two phrases, Trump will attend the White Home Correspondents’ Affiliation annual dinner. It is a custom that dates again to 1921 that’s supposed to champion the First Modification and press freedom. Let’s usher in MS NOW Authorized Affairs Reporter Fallon Gallagher, who has new evaluation for ms.now, now titled “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? The man you may see in court docket.” Fallon, take it away.
FALLON GALLAGHER: Yeah. Jonathan, it is actually vital that the president’s coming. We all know that he is planning remarks. He is working with a comic. We do not know what that is going to appear to be, whether or not he’ll roast the press, whether or not he’ll roast himself. However what we will count on is that that is in all probability going to be a fairly awkward dinner association. And that’s as a result of the president is battling with the press corps in courtrooms, not spending time with them in eating rooms.
And so, in fact, there’s all the time been pressure between the president and the press corps. We noticed that in Trump One, we have been utilizing the phrase ‘pretend information’ for over a decade now. However that is totally different as a result of I am lots of the litigation that is occurring in Trump 2.0. I cowl all of those instances very intently, and an enormous chunk of them can actually be boiled all the way down to the president versus the press. And so I checked out all of those instances, and so they actually fall into two classes. And the primary is actions, usually authorized actions, that the president is taking to focus on journalists.
Now, in fact, a few weeks in the past within the briefing room, when he was speaking about that Iranian downed fighter jet or, I’m sorry, the American downed fighter jet in Iran, he threatened to jail the journalist who first reported on that to seek out the leaker there. That was a transparent escalation in a combat that we have seen in current weeks. Now, in fact, there’s additionally been lawsuits. He filed a defamation go well with towards the Wall Road Journal for its reporting that the president had penned a be aware within the Jeffrey Epstein birthday e-book that was coupled with a unadorned drawing of a lady. We later noticed that birthday e-book, and there was a be aware that match that description with the president’s signature on it. So he sued them for defamation. A decide threw out that go well with final week, saying that the president hadn’t met the precise malice commonplace that you just want for defamation towards public officers.
However then, most notably, the largest assault that we have seen legally from the president and this administration in direction of the press was, in fact, the indictment of journalist Don Lemon and Georgia Fort for his or her function in protecting an anti-ICE protest in Saint Paul, Minnesota. In order that’s one massive chunk. And we’re seeing lots of instances like that. That is just some of them.
However then the opposite chunk is collection the place the press is preventing again for systematic restrictions that this administration is taking towards the press. Now, in fact, there have been these govt orders that defunded NPR and PBS. You noticed each of these organizations combat again in court docket and get a decide to dam that motion, calling it unconstitutional. However you additionally noticed the president’s systematic dismantling of Voice of America, which has been round since World Conflict II, to fight propaganda international globally, and so a decide final month blocked that motion. In fact, the administration is interesting that and that can go for arguments quickly.
The opposite massive one right here, although, that we have been protecting fairly extensively right here at MS NOW is the Pentagon press case. The administration over on the Pentagon instituted that new restrictive press coverage, principally limiting the way in which that the press can truly function, the place they will go, whether or not or not they want an escort, but additionally what they will report. In fact, you may do not forget that that first restrictive coverage had limits on whether or not or not the press may publish info that was coming from nameless sources. So, that was actually notable. The New York Occasions, in fact, sued there, and a decide in a very scathing ruling, blocked that motion, ordered that the Pentagon wanted to reinstate these press passes to all of these reporters who opted to show of their press cross as an alternative of signal on to that restrictive coverage that the decide stated violated the First Modification.
However all of those are the backdrop, and these instances are nonetheless ongoing as this president is ready to go to dinner, which makes us marvel, perhaps he is attempting to view this as a form of detente. Jonathan.
LEMIRE: I will go the opposite method on that. Fallon. I believe that, initially, it is a actually essential listing. I am glad you raised it. I believe way more doubtless President Trump goes to take some form of victory lap at this dinner, which I’d argue is a really problematic dinner.
You simply outlined a part of the the reason why, certainly, he is submitting a lawsuit towards a number of information organizations. We must always not overlook that his administration performed a raid of a Washington reporter – Washington Publish reporter’s residence. And this week, we realized, investigated a New York Occasions reporter. We all know this president likes to insult and demean reporters on a regular basis. We all know that he has reduce press entry. You talked about the Pentagon, additionally on the White Home, you understand, kicked, you understand, reshaped the pool, kicked reporters out to parts of the West Wing.
He has put assaults on the press on the heart of his second marketing campaign right here. And Eugene Robinson, look, I am a proud member of the White Home Correspondents Affiliation, which does unimaginable work. And the dinner does increase cash for scholarships for journalists. We are able to try this one other method. I believe that this dinner, the time for this dinner expired, I’d argue way back, and significantly this yr. It’s deeply fraught.
EUGENE ROBINSON: Yeah, I – look, I am skipping all of the occasions this weekend and I’d fortunately write a verify to assist the scholarship efforts. And I believe lots of members of the Washington press corps would additionally do the identical. This simply appears past awkward.
There’s this particular conflict occurring between the free press, which is enshrined within the First Modification, and this president. And it simply strikes me as inappropriate, awkward, and I do not see what good goes to come back from this. We’ll see, you understand.
Fallon, will we count on him to stay to the script? He is having a comic write jokes for him. I can’t keep in mind a time when the president has caught to the script. Do we expect he’ll achieve this tomorrow night time?
GALLAGHER: I imply, such as you stated, this can be a president who by no means sticks to the script. He all the time ad-libs. However that is additionally a speech that he is writing with jokes that he is working with a comic on. I believe what I will be most on the lookout for is whether or not or not these jokes are lighthearted, or whether or not the roast is extra on the assault finish of the spectrum.
LEMIRE: All proper. Nicely, the brand new piece on-line now at ms.now. MS NOW authorized affairs reporter Fallon Gallagher, thanks a lot. And Ashley, last phrase to you on this. Nevertheless it does appear to be form of an incongruous celebration of the First Modification with somebody who’s proscribing press entry repeatedly.
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