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Historian Ron Chernow Launches Comedy Career at WHCD

April 29, 2019 By WHC Insider

The annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner took place Saturday night at the Washington Hilton. With President Donald Trump opting out of the dinner for the third year in a row – and instructing Administration officials to avoid the event as well – the event took on more of a subdued tone.

Historian Ron Chernow was the guest speaker, a departure from the tradition of featuring comedians as entertainment for the evening. Chernow managed to strike a balance between humorous moments and historical perspective during his 30 minute speech.

While his approach may have been more subtle than that of previous dinner entertainers, Chernow didn’t avoid commentary directed at the president. “Washington committed only one major blunder as president: He failed to put his name on Mount Vernon and thereby bungled an early opportunity at branding…Clearly deficient in the art of the deal, the poor man had to settle for the lowly title of father of his country. A very sad story.”

In an interview with the New York Times, President Trump’s former chief economic advisor, Gary Cohn, said of Chernow’s remarks, “It was perfectly spot-on for the time and for where we are in the world. It sort of hit the spot.”

Read more via nytimes.com: Perspective, Not Parody, at a Subdued Correspondents’ Dinner

Filed Under: 2019 WHCD

26th Annual White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch Honors Military Service Members, Veterans and their Families

April 28, 2019 By WHC Insider

America’s military heroes have shown us the true meaning of sacrifice. To honor active duty and retired military members and their families, the 2019 White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch presented awards to deserving recipients who have demonstrated exemplary service to our country. The event also put a spotlight on organizations that support military service members, veterans and their families, in addition to celebrating journalism and our First Amendment rights during the afternoon prior to the 2019 White House Correspondents’ Association’s annual dinner.

Held at Katharine Graham’s Beall-Washington House, which is owned by brunch co-hosts Mark and Sally Ein, guests of the 26th edition of this White House Correspondents’ Weekend tradition included journalists, elected officials, celebrities, and other notable individuals.

This year’s Garden Brunch was hosted by Tammy Haddad, Hilary Rosen, Jean and Steve Case, Mark and Sally Ein, Jennifer Dunn, Zac Moffatt, Greta Van Susteren and John Coale, Fritz Brogan, and Franco Nuschese.

CNN’s Don Lemon and Jake Tapper emceed the program which also featured comments from brunch co-hosts Rosen, Ein and Haddad.

Co-host Jean Case presented the WHC Garden Brunch Be Fearless Award in recognition of a veteran’s fearless leadership. She honored Lt. General Gwendolyn Bingham who has broken barriers and served the country with distinction throughout her more than 30 years in the U.S. Army. Bingham is one of the few 3-star female general offices in Army history, and she is the recipient of numerous campaign and service medals.

Special guest Jay Leno also took the stage to present a Purple Heart recipient, U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant Angela Morales-Biggs of Manassas, Virginia, with the WHC Garden Brunch “Champions of Freedom” Award and the keys to a brand new, payment-free Nissan Pathfinder in a presentation sponsored by Wells Fargo and the Military Warriors Support Foundation. The automobile was provided by Jones Junction Auto Group.

As part of Wells Fargo’s commitment to helping veterans, they have partnered with the Military Warriors Support Foundation’s Transportation4Heroes program to provide support to combat-wounded veterans and Gold Star Families as they transition out of the military and into civilian life.

Leno, who has hosted the White House Correspondents’ Dinner more times than anyone else in the event’s history, was also presented with a cake and the crowd sang “Happy Birthday” to celebrate his 69th birthday on Sunday, April 28.

Blue Star Families, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, also brought several military members and their spouses as guests to the Garden Brunch.

Salesforce was also a sponsor of this year’s brunch. Additional support and food for the event was provided by Georgetown Cupcakes, Dog Tag Bakery and Compass Coffee.

The bipartisan crowd of brunch guests included Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein; Kellyanne Conway, Counselor to President Donald Trump; Valerie and Laura Jarrett, former senior adviser to President Barack Obama; Rep. Debbie Dingell, Rep. Don & Megan Beyer, Rep. David Cicilline and Rep. Lauren Underwood; John Delaney, former Congressman and presidential hopeful; Irish Ambassador to the U.S. Daniel Mulhall; the President’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani; actor Michael Kelly from Amazon’s “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan”; former U.S. Solicitor General, Ted Olson; Amb. Lloyd and Ann Hand; MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle and Ali Velshi; CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Jake Tapper, Don Lemon, Kate Bolduan, Alisyn Camerota and Pamela Brown; NBC’s Kasie Hunt; Bob Costa, David Rubenstein, Ben Ginsberg, Niki Christoff, Teresa Carlson, Lt. Gen. Gwendolyn Bingham (Assistant Chief of Staff, U.S. Army), Purple Heart recipient MSgt. Angela Morales-Biggs (U.S. Air Force), David Rubenstein, Stephanie Schriock, Gary Knell, Fred Ryan, David Adler, Jennifer Dunn, Kris Coratti, Susan Hendrick, Tom and Corrine Hoare, Jay Fielden, Craig Gordon, Leana Wen and Betsy Fischer Martin.

Filed Under: 2019 WHCD

Trump officials attend Garden Brunch, won’t attend Correspondents dinner

April 27, 2019 By WHC Insider

President Donald Trump won’t be attending the White House Correspondents Dinner for the third year in a row. He also instructed White House officials to not attend the annual event, but that didn’t stop a few of them from enjoying pre-dinner festivities.

Rod Rosenstein, Rudy Giuliani and Kellyanne Conway were spotted this year’s WHC Garden Brunch at the Beall-Washington House in Georgetown, where they joined other brunch guests in honoring military service members and veterans.

Conway spoke about the importance of supporting our military service members and why events like the Garden Brunch are good for raising awareness about veterans’ issues.

In discussing the Be Fearless Award that was presented to U.S. Army Lt. General Gwen Bingham, Conway also commented on what being fearless has meant in her career.

President Trump will attend a re-election campaign rally with supporters in Green Bay, Wisconsin on Saturday night while the White House Correspondents Dinner is taking place in Washington, D.C.

Filed Under: 2019 Garden Brunch, 2019 WHCD

White House Correspondents’ Weekend 2019 Preview

April 25, 2019 By WHC Insider

Military service members were honored at the 2018 Garden Brunch

It’s that time of year again for a weekend of news and events surrounding the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. We’ve got the latest on who plans to party again and who decided to opt out (for now).

Remember, it’s more than dinner on Saturday: there are events starting as early as Thursday, April 25th. That includes Voto Latino’s 11th Annual “Our Voices: Celebrating Diversity in Media” reception, as well as the 6th Annual “Bytes & Bylines” party – a gathering of leaders in technology, media, and politics. The party is co-hosted by Allen Gannett, Eric Kuhn, John McCarthy, and Jennifer DeCasper and will once again be held at the residence of the Ambassador of Ireland to the United States.

On Friday, April 26th, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee will hold its second Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, DC. Though she vowed never to host another NWHCD again, Samantha Bee said in a press release, “…the White House Correspondents’ Association has left me no choice — it is now up to comedy journalists to take care of real journalists. Even if those journalists insist on wearing corduroy.”

While NWHCD 2 tapes on Friday, it will air at the same time as the official White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Saturday, April 27, 10 PM ET/PT on TBS. Programming note: get your remote controls ready, as not only will the actual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner and NWHCD 2 air simultaneously, but President Donald Trump will be holding a campaign rally at the same time in Green Bay, Wisconsin. For those keeping track, this is the third time the President has opted out of the WHCA dinner.

NWHCD 2 hasn’t named their celebrity guests yet but all proceeds from ticket sales will go to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Sorry, no tickets available for the annual Friday night dinner hosted for Official Washington by David Bradley, publisher of The Atlantic. It’s invite-only for the Embassy Row backyard gathering.

Also happening on Friday night, United Talent Agency (UTA) will hold its fourth annual “Celebration of America’s Journalists” pre-party at Fiola Mare restaurant. The event is co-hosted by UTA co-president, Jay Sures, and Mediaite CEO, Dan Abrams.

Sures said in a statement: “UTA is thrilled to continue our tradition of bringing together journalists and voices from across the political aisle to celebrate the diversity of opinions that make our democracy stronger.”

From The Roots to The Hill, Grammy Award-winning musician Questlove is expected to DJ at the media outlet’s “Toast to Freedom of the Press” at the National Portrait Gallery. The Hill’s Friday night shindig promises to be a “celebration of politics without prejudice.” This is a departure from last year where The Hill hosted a pre-party with the entertainment TV show Extra and the Canadian Embassy.

Not happening this year due to scheduling conflicts: the Correspondents’ Jam hosted by Chuck Leavell, owner of the enviro-news outlet, Mother Nature Network. The event usually featured bands fronted by journalists with the occasional celebrity cameo appearance. Leavell is the touring keyboardist for the Rolling Stones who were supposed to be on tour right now, but those plans are on pause while frontman Mick Jagger recovers from heart surgery.

The Creative Coalition is opting out for the first time in years because of the congressional recess. “We would love to have been at the correspondents’ dinner, except we tie it to a day where we advocate for the arts to Congress, and Congress is out of session,” Creative Coalition CEO Robin Bronk told The Hill. Instead, the Coalition – with stars from “Madam Secretary,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Shameless” and more – will be coming to DC on May 9th for their annual #RightstoBearArts Capitol Hill Advocacy Day and Gala.

Not to worry, there will be plenty happening at the 26th annual White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch to keep people buzzing. This traditional Saturday afternoon gathering started by Tammy Haddad will honor military veterans and their families. Invited guests will attend the outdoor affair at the Beall-Washington House in Georgetown, currently owned by Mark and Sally Ein. The estate was once the home of the late Washington Post publisher, Katharine Graham. Stay tuned because we hear there will be a special guest to present a BIG gift to a well-deserving Purple Heart veteran. There will also be a presentation to an active duty officer by author and philanthropist Jean Case.

The big WHCA dinner, of course, takes place at the Washington Hilton. Chief Washington Correspondent for SiriusXM and president of the WHCA, Olivier Knox, says there will be changes this year, telling The Hill he “felt the dinner needed a reset, to be more serious, to put the focus back on journalism, on the job of chronicling a presidency and holding it to account.”

The reset includes swapping out a late-night TV host/comedian as the entertainment for Ron Chernow, best-selling and award-winning author. He wrote the biography of Alexander Hamilton that Lin-Manuel Miranda picked up, which led to the creation of the hit Broadway musical, “Hamilton.” You know, no biggie.

A number of after parties have already been announced for this year, but one not coming back is Playboy’s “No Tie After-Party.” The 2018 inaugural party was hosted by the adult magazine’s chief creative officer, Cooper Hefner, but they’ve decided to pass this time around.

Constance Zimmer and Michael Kelly at the 2015 Garden Brunch

Instead, folks can try to score an invite to Capitol File’s after-party at the Dupont Circle Hotel hosted by Michael Kelly of “House of Cards” or NBC/MSNBC’s “The After Party” at the Italian Embassy.

The Los Angeles Times is also getting in on the action. They’ve planned a fundraising after-party at the National Press Club to raise money for Austin Tice, a former U.S. Marine and an American freelance journalist who went missing in Syria over six years ago. #FreeAustinTice

On Sunday, Politico founder and publisher, Robert Allbritton, and his wife, Elena, will once again host their own garden brunch at their elegant Georgetown home. Party-goers can also opt to nurse their headaches at CNN’s Political Hangover Brunch – and as the invite says – “Laissez les bon temps rouler!” Let the Good Times Roll, indeed.

Filed Under: 2019 WHCD

26th Annual White House Correspondents’ Weekend #GardenBrunch

April 24, 2019 By WHC Insider

The 26th Annual White House Correspondents’ Weekend Garden Brunch will take place on Saturday, April 27, 2019 in Washington, D.C.

The brunch will be hosted by Tammy Haddad, Hilary Rosen, Jean and Steve Case, Mark and Sally Ein, Jennifer Dunn, Zac Moffatt, Greta Van Susteren & John Coale, Fritz Brogan, and Franco Nuschese. Comedian Jay Leno will be the special guest this year.

Our military heroes have shown us the true meaning of sacrifice, and we will honor veterans during the Garden Brunch with the Champions of Freedom Award and the Be Fearless Award.

Leno, along with Garden Brunch hosts and guests, will honor a deserving veteran who has demonstrated exemplary service to the United States. This recognition will be presented in partnership with Wells Fargo and Military Warriors Support Foundation.

Jean Case, alongside the other hosts, will also present the Garden Brunch Be Fearless Award in recognition of a veteran’s fearless leadership.

There will be a live stream available on Twitter @WHCInsider of guest arrivals starting at 11am ET and the stage program at approximately 12:15 pm ET. Join the conversation on Twitter using #GardenBrunch.

Watch Leno’s performance at the 2010 White House Correspondents Dinner.

Filed Under: 2019 Garden Brunch, 2019 WHCD, News

WHC Garden Brunch Promises Big Surprises

April 19, 2019 By WHC Insider

The 26th Annual White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch will once again honor U.S. military service members and their families on Saturday, April 27, 2019.

The Garden Brunch brings together journalists, politicos, lawmakers, and Hollywood stars to raise awareness for important causes. What started as a backyard tradition by WHC Insider’s Tammy Haddad has become a much-anticipated event to kick-off the day. In addition to Haddad, this year’s co-hosts include Hilary Rosen, Jean and Steve Case, Mark & Sally Ein, Jennifer Dunn, Zac Moffatt, Greta Van Susteren & John Coale, Fritz Brogan, and Franco Nuschese.

Watch highlights from the 2018 WHC Garden Brunch.

Filed Under: 2019 Garden Brunch, 2019 WHCD, WHCA Dinner

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About White House Correspondents Insider

Exploring “behind the scenes” of the most powerful city in the world — Washington, D.C. — and those who cover it.

We track the White House Correspondents’ weekend and all the activities around it, from journalists and media companies to the White House and politicos.

Tammy Haddad is Co-Founder and Editor-In-Chief of WHC Insider and CEO of Haddad Media.

White House Correspondents Insider is not affiliated with or approved by the White House Correspondents’ Association, which is a registered trademark of the WHCA.

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