White House Correspondents Insider

Behind the scenes of one of the most powerful clubs in America.

Tammy Haddad interviews Ronan Farrow for Washington Insider Podcast

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Ronan Farrow Book Party 5/3

Ronan Farrow appeared Friday, May 4th at Cafe Milano in an event hosted by Franco Nuschese, Kathy O’Hearn, Hilary Rosen, and Tammy Haddad to discuss his new book War on Peace: The End of Diplomacy and the Decline of American Influence and his Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting on the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse scandal. Tammy Haddad interviewed Ronan during the event as part of the Washington Insider podcast. You can listen and subscribe here.

Farrow’s book charts the militarization of diplomacy, and he interviewed every living Secretary of State, including Rex Tillerson in his final days in office, who for the first time expressed regret that he did not fully familiarize himself with the inner workings of the State Department before agreeing to take the job.

Ronan Farrow and Franco Nushcese

Fellow Pulitzer Prize-winner and New Yorker colleague Jane Mayer joined Ronan for a toast to Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting. He spoke with Tammy Haddad about the experience of writing these complex stories, “The stories needed to be bulletproof. They needed to account for every counterargument…I try to tell the stories that have staying power and reach an incredibly high level of seriousness…you owe it to all the parties to interrogate the claims as skeptical and rigorously as possible.”

Seth Meyers: Trump Demanded I Apologize for WHCD Roast

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Comedian and “Late Night” host Seth Meyers sat down with Edward-Isaac Dovere, chief Washington correspondent for Politico and the host of the “Off Message” podcast, where he claimed that Michael Cohen approached him about Trump appearing on his show as a way of repairing ties after Trump’s comedic roasting at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

According to Meyers, the “Late Night” host invited Donald Trump to appear on his show. Trump’s fixer Michael Cohen stipulated that he would have to publicly apologize to Trump for the supposed slights during Meyers’ stand up routine at the Correspondents’ Dinner. Meyers refused to the terms and the talks stalled.

You can listen to the full Seth Meyers’ interview here.

Pulitzer Prize-Winner Ronan Farrow at Cafe Milano War on Peace Book Lunch

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Ronan Farrow Book Party 5/3

Franco Nuschese gathered Washington politicos and journalists at Cafe Milano to toast Ronan Farrow on the publication of his new book War on Peace: The End of Diplomacy and the Decline of American Influence on Thursday, May 3rd. Farrow’s new book features interviews with every living former Secretary of State and challenges the rise of the use of military power over the use of diplomacy.

Tammy Haddad interviewed Farrow for the Washington Insider podcast, asking him about his work at the State Department and his reporting on the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations for which he recently won the Pulitzer Prize for public service.

Toasting the author were Washington influencers Wayne Reynolds, Greta Van Susteren and John Coale, Virginia Shore, Sally Quinn, Ryan Williams, Robyn Bash, Kristine Coratti, Juleanna Glover, Jane Mayer, Emily Lenzner, Greta Van Susteren, John Coale, Ann Klenk, Ann Hand, Adrienne Arsht, Mariella Trager, Lynn Sweet, Kevin Latek, Betsy Fischer Martin, Ruth Marcus, Elisabeth Bumiller, Holly Page, Kevin Baron, Jennifer Maguire, Autumn VandeHei, Dan Meyers, Eileen Shields, Samia Farouki, Megan Smith, Courtney Haynes, Lisa Dickey, Helena Andrews, and Kendra Barkoff.

2018 Garden Brunch Video

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2018 marked the 25th anniversary of the White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch!

This year, we honored the men, women, and families who have served in the U.S. Military. Staff Sgt. Dominic Perrotte was given the deed to his new 100%-mortgage free home by ABC News’ Bob Woodruff and Virginia’s Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax as part of a program by Wells Fargo and Military Warriors Support Foundation.

Also, the 10th graduating class from NS2 Serves was honored with the Champions of Freedom Award by Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia. Special thanks to co-hosts Tammy Haddad, Kevin Sheekey, Hilary Rosen and Megan Murphy, Fred Humphries, Mark and Sally Ein, Mark Testoni, Greta Van Susteren and John Coale, Fritz Brogan, and Franco Nuschese.

Michelle Wolf Ruffles Feathers at White House Correspondents Dinner

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Michelle Wolf roasts the President and White House administration officials at this year’s White House Correspondents Dinner

Michelle Wolf’s divisive stand-up routine at this year’s White House Correspondents Dinner has stirred tensions on both sides of the aisle for her comments on White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and other administration officials. According to a review by the New York Time’s Michael Grynbaum, Wolf’s performance “took unflinching aim at some of the notables in the room — and quickly opened a divide, largely but not entirely along partisan lines, over the limits of comedy and comity under a president who rarely hesitates to attack the press.”

After Wolf’s performance, the White House Correspondents Association issued an apology, “Last night’s program was meant to offer a unifying message about our common commitment to a vigorous and free press,” White House Correspondents Association President Margaret Talev wrote. “Unfortunately, the entertainer’s monologue was not in the spirit of that mission.”

For her part, Wolf is unapologetic about the response her performance received, tweeting “Thank you!” to a statement made by former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer calling her comments “disgraceful”.

Virginia Congressman Don Beyer Awards NS2 Serves Graduates at White House Correspondents Garden Brunch

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Mark Testoni, of NS2 Serves, and Rep. Don Beyer handing a Garden Brunch Champions of Freedom Award to an NS2 graduate at the 2018 White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch

The 25th annual White House Correspondents Garden Brunch brought together Washington politicos and Hollywood A-listers to recognize veterans and their contributions to our democracy including SAP NS2 Serves, a non-profit dedicated to helping veterans by providing valuable IT training and employment assistance at absolutely no cost to the veterans.

“At NS2 Serves, we are all about Boots to Suits,” said NS2 president and CEO Mark Testoni. “These veterans and their families have sacrificed so much for their country — they deserve our support.”

Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) joined Testoni on stage at the Garden Brunch to present this year’s NS2 Serves graduates with the Garden Brunch Champions of Freedom Award.

“I’m so proud to be here with you to honor the contributions of these veterans and military families,” said Beyer, whose father is a Korean War veteran. “My district is home to over 50,000 veterans and active duty men and women, and I’m proud to represent a district with such a strong ethic of service, the same devotion shown by all these individuals before you today.”

In just four years, NS2 Serves has celebrated ten graduating classes totaling over 200 students, giving graduates and their families the benefits of quality, skilled-based employment in technology fields. Every graduate from this year’s class has been hired by Deloitte.

The Garden Brunch is proud to support NS2 Serves and its commitment to providing skills training and high-tech jobs to veterans.

Here’s All The Big Stars Who Attended This Year’s White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch

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The annual White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch brings together Hollywood stars, politicians, and of course, the brightest lights of Washington media, and this year’s 25th anniversary was no different.

Stormy Daniels’ attorney Michael Avenatti was spotted at the brunch as well as celebrities like HBO Ballers star Richard Schiff, Gloria Calderon Kellett showrunner Netflix’s One Day at a Time, and The View co-host Sunny Hostin.

Among the Trump administration and White House officials in attendance were Senior Advisor to the President Kellyanne Conway, Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley, and former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.

Pollster Frank Luntz, political advisor Bill Knapp, Heather Podesta, and American Conservative Union head Matt Schlapp and his wife, White House Director of Strategic Communication Mercedes Schlapp were among the politicos seen at the brunch.

The bipartisan crowd featured members of Congress from both sides of the aisle including Representatives Darrell Issa, Debbie Dingell, Don Beyer, Joaquin Castro, and John Delaney.

Government officials included Virginia Lieutenant Gov. Justin Fairfax, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, DC Councilman Jack Evans, DC Senator Paul Strauss, and Dr. Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress.

Comedians Jordan Klepper, the host of Comedy Central’s “The Opposition”, and RJ Fried, the executive producer of “Our Cartoon President”, a segment of which made it into the program at the White House Correspondents Dinner, were also in attendance.

News Leaders included Fred Ryan, publisher of the Washington Post, Craig Gordon, Bloomberg DC Bureau Chief, Sam Feist, CNN Bureau Chief, and Andrew Morse, President of CNN Digital.

A handful of TV hosts including ABC Correspondents Bob Woodruff and Juju Chang, Brian Stelter, Don Lemon, MSNBC analyst Heidi Przybyla, Washington Post reporter and host of PBS Washington Week Robert Costa, and MSNBC hosts Ali Velshi and Stephanie Ruhle joined the fun.

Making the rounds were media stars Margaret Talev, the veteran Bloomberg White House Correspondent and WHCA President, MSNBC’s Peter Alexander and his wife Alison Starling, CNN Political Director David Chalian and CNN reporters Jeff Zeleny and Jim Acosta, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist from the Washington Post Philip Rucker, ABC White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl, The Atlantic’s Steve Clemons, Politico’s Daniel Lippman and Anna Palmer, MSNBC national security analyst Jeremy Bash, Fresh FM Tommy McFly, and Defense One’s Kevin Baron.

Notables included MPAA President Charles Rivkin, President of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Patricia Harrison, Ted Olson and Lady Booth Olson, General John Campbell, Abbe Lowell, Valerie Jarrett, Ambassador Lloyd and Ann Hand, Sally Quinn, The Wing co-founder Audrey Gelman, Executive Director of Wikimedia Katherine Marler, David Adler, Robert & Elena Allbritton, Ryan Williams, Facebook’s Erin Egan and Rachel Whetstone, Zach Leonsis, co-owner Monumental Sports, Washington Wizards and Ed and Deborah Lerner Cohen, co-owners of the Washington Nationals, and Tina Tchen of the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund.

This year’s Brunch co-hosts were Mark and Sally Ein, who own the Beall-Washington House where the brunch took place, Greta Van Susteren and John Coale, Tammy Haddad, Hilary Rosen and Megan Murphy, Kevin Sheekey, Fred Humphries, Franco Nuschese, and Fritz Brogan.

25 Years of Celebrating Causes and Journalism at the White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch

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It started as an intimate gathering in my backyard in the Palisades in 1993, 25 years ago. I created the Garden Brunch as a way to gather friends from New York and LA who were in Washington for the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

The first Garden Brunch was a salute to a longtime friend and colleague Stephen Rivers, a Hollywood publicist and political activist well known to politicos on both sides of the aisle and Washington reporters. After the invites went out, I was surprised by the amount of RSVPs we received from legends like Tim Russert to Bush 41 White House aide Anna Perez as well as many TV and print journalists.

Late into the party I got a call on my house phone. A voice on the line said, “A secured package is on the way.” A few moments later none other than Barbra Streisand walked in accompanied by the great songwriters Marilyn and Alan Bergman. There were no cameras or paparazzi in those days.

We soon realized the gathering had so much political wattage that we should use this platform to help others while celebrating great Washington journalism. We decided to bring in more than just the country’s top anchors and reporters, but also activists, celebrities, and government leaders, to advocate for their causes.

As part of the weekend, the Garden Brunch has always been about celebrating the free press. And we aim to stay true to our original goal of creating a gathering space for journalists, politicos from both sides of the aisle, and celebrities to mingle prior to the main event. The brunch also provides an opportunity for many of the new faces making their White House Correspondents’ Weekend debut to meet their dinner sponsors.

The Fourth Estate has been well represented at the Garden Brunch. Guests have included Greta Van Susteren, Rupert Murdoch, Wolf Blitzer, Arianna Huffington, David Gregory, Andrea Mitchell, Bret Baier, April Ryan and Gayle King.

Over the years, the event has maintained a bipartisan spirit as presidential administrations have come and gone and the brunch crowd has continued to grow.

One of my all-time favorite moments from the Garden Brunch has to be getting the opportunity to introduce Captain Richard Phillips, who had been captured by Somali pirates, to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who had coordinated his rescue at sea. Another favorite was watching Matthew Morrison, the star of Glee, joining the hottest boy band of the year, The Jonas Brothers, to advocate for finding a cure for epilepsy.

In 2011, the event moved to its new location, the historic Beall-Washington House in Georgetown, the former residence of Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham. Mark and Sally Ein, who have since become co-hosts of the event, now own the home which was the location of many scenes in Steven Spielberg’s film, The Post.

Celebrity spotting at the Brunch doesn’t disappoint. The biggest stars of the day that have been invited to Washington, DC for the weekend often make a pre-dinner appearance at the Garden Brunch.

Since 2017, the dinner has been a lower-key affair due to the change in the White House, which has translated to fewer celebrities making the trek to Washington. Notable guests at the Brunch in recent years have included cast members from HBO’s VEEP, Helen Mirren, Bryan Cranston, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tony Goldwyn, the cast of Netflix’s House of Cards, Bridget Moynahan, Gerard Butler, Lindsay Lohan, Elle Macpherson, Kerry Washington, Rosario Dawson, Kris Jenner and Woody Harrelson. Luminaries and business leaders have included Travis Kalanick, Joanna Coles, Kevin Plank, Biz Stone, Eric Schmidt, Sheila Johnson and Yuri Milner.

My favorite guests have always been Greta Van Susteren and her husband John Coale. You know her as a TV host, but she is the most loyal friend and has always brought in interesting celebrities who helped us draw attention to our causes. Over the years she has brought everyone from Kim Kardashian and Todd Palin to Lindsay Lohan and Kris Jenner.

Other Garden Brunch co-hosts over the years have included Hilary Rosen, Alex Castellanos, Steve McMahon, Kevin Sheekey, Anita Dunn, Bill Knapp, David Adler, Franco Nuschese, Steve and Jean Case, Constance Milstein, Fred Humphries and Rupert Murdoch’s then-wife Wendi.

The brunch has honored several prestigious organizations in its 25 years with a focus on causes that are making a significant difference in people’s lives. Recently, that list of organizations has included CURE Epilepsy, The White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood, Blue Star Families, Dog Tag Bakery, Yellow Ribbons United, and NS2 Serves.

This year, we highlighted Wells Fargo’s veteran home donation program and NS2 Serves’ veteran training and hiring programs. The biggest surprise of the event came when ABC News Correspondent Bob Woodruff presented Ret. Army Staff Sergeant Dominic Perrotte with a 100% mortgage-free house. Perrotte, who completed 3 tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq and was wounded in 2012 when his vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb, was awarded the home after completing the Wells Fargo and Military Warriors Support Foundation’s Homes4WoundedHeroes’ three-year financial mentoring program.

Other individuals and organizations have been acknowledged for their contributions as well. In 2017, Democracy Fund president Joe Goldman received the Visionary Award for his work in supporting independent journalists. At the 2015 Garden Brunch, American Sniper widow, Taya Kyle, received the Champion Award for her work on behalf of veterans’ families. We are proud to be the only White House Correspondents Weekend event to highlight a non-journalism cause.

Because it’s a brunch, the food being served is very important and the spread at past events has created buzz of its own. From Katherine Kallinis and Sophie LaMontagne of Georgetown Cupcakes, who always donate their finest cupcakes, to the popular donut wall, to specialty cocktails, to the necessary espresso bar that keeps guests buzzing through the weekend, the food at the Garden Brunch has often been the talk of the town.

We also attempt to have fun with social media while spreading the word about important causes. Guests have been invited to write their thoughts on Microsoft PPI displays. Zignal Labs has shared real-time analytics about #WHCD chatter through stunning visualizations on multi-screen displays. A livestream of the event has been broadcast online and also covered by C-SPAN. And guests are always encouraged to share their experiences using the #GardenBrunch and #WHCD hashtags.

It’s an honor to host the Garden Brunch and to be part of this exciting weekend of putting a spotlight on the importance of journalism in America. The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is a special event, and I speak on behalf of my co-hosts in saying that we look forward to being part of the celebration again next year.

Bob Woodruff Presents Army Veteran with a Mortgage-Free House at White House Correspondents Garden Brunch

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Bob Woodruff, Andrea Dellinger, Jerry Quinn, and LT Gov Justin Fairfax present Dominic with the official deed.

This year’s White House Correspondents Garden Brunch was full of surprises and the biggest came when ABC News Correspondent Bob Woodruff partnered with Wells Fargo to present Ret. Army Staff Sergeant Dominic Perrotte with a 100% mortgage-free house!

Perrotte, who completed 3 tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq and was wounded in 2012 when his vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb, was awarded the home after completing the Wells Fargo and Military Warriors Support Foundation’s Homes4WoundedHeroes’ three-year financial mentoring program.

Woodruff, who was wounded while covering the frontline in Iraq in 2006, praised Wells Fargo’s initiative to honor veterans and their families saying, “To date, Wells Fargo has donated over 350 homes, valued at $55 million, to veterans and gold star families in all 50 states. It’s not just about giving away homes — it’s about providing quality, long-term assistance for our veterans for many years down the road.”

Woodruff awarded Perrotte with an Ann Hand eagle pin, which is worn by Congressmen, Ambassadors, and military service members. Woodruff even invited Perrotte to attend the White House Correspondents Dinner as his guest! Virginia Congressman Don Beyer and Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax were there to congratulate Perrotte upon accepting the deed for the home, which is in Hampton, Virginia.

 

Our (Cartoon) President Addresses Press and Awardees at White House Correspondents Dinner

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RJ Fried and Tammy Haddad at the Bloomberg pre-party

Showtime’s Our Cartoon President made a special appearance at the White House Correspondents Dinner on Saturday, April 28th to serenade the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman. The segment also featured cartoon versions of MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, and White House Correspondents’ Association president Margaret Talev.

Along with producers RJ Fried and Stephen Colbert, “Our Cartoon President” is executive produced by Chris Licht, the executive producer of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and Executive Vice President of special programming at CBS.