WHCA looks to liven things up at this year's Correspondents' Dinner

The White House Correspondents’ Association announced this morning that SNL’s Kenan Thompson will host its annual dinner on April 25 this year with comedian Hasan Minhaj as the featured entertainer:

Kenan Thompson, the actor and longest-tenured Saturday Night Live cast-member, will serve as @whca dinner host in April. Hasan Minhaj, the Peabody award-winning host of Netflix’s Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, will return to the dinner as featured entertainer.

— Anita Kumar (@anitakumar01) February 18, 2020

So, they’re admitting last year’s dinner was a dud?

.@kenanthompson to host this year’s #WHCA dinner on 4/25, with @hasanminhaj returning as the night’s featured entertainer. Last year, dinner veered away from Hollywood celeb element in favor of historian Ron Chernow as headliner.

— Judy Kurtz (@JudyKurtz) February 18, 2020

Will Thompson host as Darius Trump?

???? ??????? ???? ????? – Darius Trump pic.twitter.com/Sm33B4vkKa

— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) December 8, 2019

Or will he come dressed up as the “Blacks for Trump” guy?

Live from Phoenix… #WeekendUpdate pic.twitter.com/wLszKLgZJ6

— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) August 25, 2017

The dinner is making some other changes, too, and looking to liven things up from previous years:

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A look at our ambitious plans for the 2020 White House Correspondents' Dinner by @grynbaum. The breaking news is in the final paragraphs . . . . https://t.co/CCg64Gf4Fu

cc @kenanthompson, @hasanminhaj & @whca

— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) February 18, 2020

You know, one reason print journalism is dying is because it can’t compete with giant screens, which they’re admitting:

The dinner itself — held in the dreary ballroom of the Washington Hilton — will have a refreshed look. The yellowish curtain of years past will be replaced by large screens, and the evening will be overseen by a veteran television producer, Bob Bain, whose résumé includes a pair of Trevor Noah’s Netflix specials.

Whether Mr. Trump plans to go remains unknown: the White House did not respond to a request about the president’s intentions.

So, will the president attend? Hopefully it’s a hard no.

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