LIVE: Trump 100 Days Rally versus Nerd Prom(s)
A Nerd Prom, A “Not” Nerd Prom, and the President’s 100 Days Speech
The “nerd prom” is a hideous display in which journalists mingle with celebrities to pat each other on the backs. Trump, who is constantly feuding with the celebrity journalists, declined to appear, as Professor Jacobson wrote in late February, Trump bows out of White House Correspondents Association “Nerd Prom”:
The White House Correspondents Association annual dinner is referred to by the members as “Nerd Prom.”
Is there possibly a more annoying title in the world? They are not nerds. But they do think of themselves as being smarter than their readers and viewers.
It’s a disgusting spectacle of insiders patting insiders on the back, and the in-the-know crowd rubbing of self-important elbows. Inevitably, “conservative” correspondents hoping to be accepted into the fold attend.
Not only that, Trump decided to counter-program his own 100-day rally to compete for eyeballs and media attention. I wrote about this recently, Trump Expertly Trolls Journalists Over “Nerd Prom” with Competing Rally:
One of the things that I most enjoy about President Trump is his canny trolling of the media; he holds up hoops, they jump. He whispers, “look! Squirrel!,” they scurry off chasing squirrels. It’s highly entertaining.
In perhaps the best example of his expert trolling yet, the president has announced that he will be holding an event in Pennsylvania at the exact same time as the White House Correspondents Dinner.
Tonight’s the night, so pop some popcorn . . . or just listen to the president and then tune out.
Trump’s decision not to attend tonight’s anti-Trump free-for-all becomes more excellent by the day. The regressive left is now distressed that without their target present and squirming in his seat, the Nerd Prom will be a bit of a bust. Who wants to watch a bunch of unimaginative journos bash someone who’s not there to react or defend himself? Who wants to hear the same tired insults, name-calling, distortions, and outright lies we’ve been listening to for over a year?
The Chicago Tribune worries that a spoof nerd prom will eclipse the real one.
Washington’s once-glitzy “nerd prom” is about to get overshadowed.
Late-night TV star Samantha Bee was pulling in celebrities for the first “Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner” on Saturday — a tongue-in-cheek play on the real bash, where journalists, the president and, in recent years, lots of bold-face names have mingled.
But President Donald Trump was skipping the White House Correspondents’ Association gala, instead marking his 100th day in office with a rally in Pennsylvania. No president had declined an invitation since Ronald Reagan in 1981, and he was recovering from an assassination attempt. Still, Reagan phoned in some friendly, humorous remarks.
WHCA dinner organizers wanted to put the focus on the First Amendment and the role of the press in democracy. The scheduled headliners were Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, set to present journalism awards. Woodward told The Washington Post the two planned to speak about “the First Amendment and the importance of aggressive but fair reporting.”
Look for the celebrities at Bee’s event: TV stars such as Alysia Reiner of “Orange Is The New Black,” Retta of “Parks and Recreation” and Matt Walsh of “Veep” were expected at her after-party.
I’m not in the least embarrassed that I have no idea who any of these “stars” are and certainly won’t be watching a bunch of minor celebrities spewing hate in the name of combating hate (however that works).
But the organizer of the nerd pom is a bit nonplussed and frets that Trump’s absence will make his prom even less interesting than that run by a “late night TV star” (I’ll have to take their word for it that this Bee person is a “star” of any kind).
The Chicago Tribune continues:
Jeff Mason, the WHCA president, said this year would have been different even if Trump had attended, “based on the tension that has existed in the relationship and some of the things he has said about the press. We were preparing for a different dinner either way.”
Frankly, both proms sound mind-numbingly boring, embarrassingly sophomoric, and predictably predictable.
The president’s 100 days speech is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST.
You can also watch below:
https://youtu.be/pkYGdIkXb7c?t=7m22s
The White House Correspondents Dinner follows at 9:30 p.m. EST.
TONIGHT: White House Correspondents' Association Dinner with @hasanminhaj – LIVE at 9:30pm ET on C-SPAN #nerdprom https://t.co/1X5IZAAxxa
— CSPAN (@cspan) April 29, 2017
[Featured Image: Trump at 2011 “Nerd Prom” being mocked by Obama]
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Comments
It should be the dork prom. Dorks are nerds without the smarts.
It’s asymmetric warfare. They have to play Trump’s game, whatever he decides to play, and whether they like it or not. But he doesn’t have to play theirs.
It’s genius—and it’s so simple.
I was thinking: If Hillary Clinton were elected President, what would have been the chances of Pennsylvanians seeing her in person before the next election…with the exceptions of a natural disaster or fund-raiser?
Less than zero.
And they would be so lucky.
“Jeff Mason, the WHCA president, said this year would have been different even if Trump had attended, “based on the tension that has existed in the relationship and some of the things he has said about the press.””
Likewise, based on the tension that has existed in the relationship and many of the things the press has said about President Trump.
Trump’s poem about the vicious snake biting the woman was spectacular. It was a little odd at first to hear a US president read something like that, but then again was has normal gotten us so far; liberal overrun and $20T in debt.
I watched Hassan’s monologue out of a sense of responsibility. It sucked so bad it could have been sponsored by Kirby. More droning and bombing than Obama’s entire foreign policy.