The White House Correspondents’ Dinner guest list keeps raising eyebrows

Brendan Carr’s planned appearance and Trump’s return complicate an event already fraught with press tensions

Federal Communications Chair Brendan Carr plans to attend this weekend’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Oliver Darcy reports in his Status newsletter, adding another controversial name to a guest list that already includes Pete Hegseth, Stephen Miller and Donald Trump. Carr confirmed his attendance in a text message to Status, though it’s unclear what table he’ll join. His presence raises eyebrows because he has used his role to target major broadcasters and float potential actions against journalists.

Speaking of … former Washington Post media reporter Paul Farhi gave the White House Correspondents’ Dinner a dressing-down in a piece published Tuesday in The Atlantic. The veteran journalist admitted to attending several times throughout his career, but described it as an “awkward and ethically fraught affair” even in the best of times. But this year’s gala, he believes, is poised to be even more awkward and embarrassing. Farhi raised questions about the news that President Donald Trump will actually be attending this year, after declining all invites throughout his years as POTUS. “His surprising decision sets up a bizarre dynamic: On Saturday night, the president will break bread with the same people he’s spent a decade calling ‘fake’ and ‘enemies of the people,’” Farhi writes, before listing the many ways in which Trump has attacked the press.