One of the good things Donald Trump may accomplish as president is to do away with the annual White House Correspondents Dinner, which has increasingly struck me as an awful ritual. It's still technically supposed to happen but I can't see Trump sitting there being a good sport as some comedian roasts him, nor can I imagine all the members of the press sitting there as Trump tells them how horrible he thinks they are.
I can imagine him wanting to go through with it if all the news outlets that report his failings and who do fact-checking are excluded and all the speakers get up and say he's the most awesome, fabulous president ever and he did indeed beat Hillary in a landslide. That could happen but I doubt the organization that traditionally throws the White House Correspondents Dinner will go along with that. Maybe Trump will announce he's going to throw his own dinner to honor himself and he'll force Mexico to pay for it.
We seem to be one step closer to the W.H.C.D. not happening at all. Various organizations are canceling their traditional after-parties. I assume this is because they have to plan and put down deposits now and doubt the event will go forward as planned.
Samantha Bee is hosting an alternative dinner for charity on the night that the W.H.C.D. will take place if it takes place. That's great but it doesn't go far enough. I'd like to see the dinner not be canceled this year. I'd like to see them go ahead with it, book Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers to speak…and if Trump won't show, just have Alec Baldwin take his place in character. And maybe when it's time for "the president" to speak, have Baldwin get up and read a speech comprised wholly of things Trump has actually said. At last, the White House Correspondents Dinner might serve a healthy purpose.