White House Correspondents Insider

Behind the scenes of the most powerful city in the world — Washington, D.C. — and those who cover it.

Archives for February 2022

Trevor Noah to Entertain at 2022 WHCA Dinner

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Photo Credit: Trevor Noah/WHCA

The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) announced Monday that Trevor Noah, host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” is the headline entertainer for the 2022 WHCA Dinner on April 30, 2022, at the Washington Hilton.

Noah, who will also host the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards this year, is currently on tour with his comedy show, “Back to Abnormal.”

Due to the pandemic, this year’s dinner will be the WHCA’s first since 2019. And it will be the first dinner since 2016 to feature a sitting president.

In the WHCA’s news release announcing Noah, WHCA President Steven Portnoy of CBS News Radio said, “The White House Correspondents’ Dinner celebrates Americans’ freedoms and the working people who bring the news to the world. Trevor is an incredible talent who keeps us laughing — and thinking — four nights a week. We can’t wait for him to help bring our 100-year Washington tradition ‘Back to Abnormal.”

About the WHCA

Founded in 1914, the White House Correspondents’ Association exists to promote excellence in journalism as well as journalism education, and to ensure robust news coverage of the president and the presidency. We support awards for some of the best political reporting of the past year, and scholarships for young reporters who carry our hopes for vibrant journalism in the years to come. Each day, we work to ensure that the men and women who cover the White House have the ability to seek answers from powerful officials, up to and including the President. Our association comprises hundreds of members from the worlds of print, television, radio and online journalism. Their work, for outlets based in the United States and overseas, reaches a global audience. The association has been holding an annual dinner since 1921.

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff Evacuated From DC School Visit After Security Threat 

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Second gentleman Doug Emhoff and Dunbar Principal Nadine Smith on the right. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff was evacuated from an event at a DC public high school by Secret Service agents due to an apparent bomb threat. Emhoff is safe, as well as others who were on the scene, according to D.C. police.

The Associated Press reported that Emhoff was inside the school’s museum for just five minutes before his security detail approached him saying, “we have to go.” Emhoff quickly evacuated the building into his waiting motorcade. Fifteen minutes later, faculty and students were evacuated from the school as well.

Kristen Metzger, a D.C. police spokeswoman, said police were informed shortly after 2:30 p.m. that a bomb threat had been called into the school, but nothing had been found as of 3 p.m. Emhoff was at Dunbar High School celebrating Black History Month. The school, founded in 1870, was America’s first public high school specifically for Black students.

According to District of Columbia Public Schools spokesman Enrique Gutierrez, there was a bomb threat, though it was not known if it was related to Emhoff’s visit or the specific event commemorating Black History Month. 

“We had a threat today to the facility so we did — basically we took the precaution of evacuating everybody, as you saw. I think everyone is safe. The building is clear. But I don’t have any specific details at this moment,” Gutierrez told reporters.

Katie Peters, the spokesperson for Emhoff, said the school alerted the Secret Service about a “security incident or a report of a potential security incident.” Students at the school were dismissed for the rest of the day, as it was expected to take several hours for security officials to sweep the building, principal Nadine Smith said.

The Secret Service did not provide reporters with any more details about the incident. Vice President Kamala Harris was not at the event, though this news comes recently after it was reported that she was threatened by a pipe bomb outside the DNC on January 6th of last year.