US President Donald Trump, who has feuded with several media personalities and organisations, will not attend the White House Correspondents' Association annual black-tie dinner for the second straight year, the president of the group says.
Last year, Mr Trump was the first US President to skip the event in 36 years. Most officials in his administration also snubbed the dinner.
"The White House has informed us that the president does not plan to participate in this year's dinner but that he will actively encourage members of the executive branch to attend and join us as we celebrate the First Amendment," Margaret Talev, the president of the White House Correspondents' Association, said on Friday.
The First Amendment is the section of the US Constitution that mentions freedom of the press.
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Ms Talev, a correspondent for Bloomberg, said White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders would represent the Trump administration at the April 28 dinner.
Mr Trump had said in an interview aired on Friday on New York radio station 77 WABC that he probably would not attend the dinner, which normally features big names from the worlds of politics and entertainment as guests of media organisations.
Mr Trump had attended the dinner before becoming President, notably in 2011, when former US President Barack Obama publicly ribbed Mr Trump about questioning whether Mr Obama was born in the US. Mr Obama was born in Hawaii.
But in 2017, Mr Trump, who frequently complains about media coverage of his administration, said he would sit out the event, adding that reporters had treated him unfairly. He said at the time that he would "absolutely" attend this year.
Reporters for The New York Times and CNN, along with news website Politico and Reuters, were granted awards by the White House Correspondents' Association this year.
Reuters
