On Tuesday, it was announced Kenan Thompson will host the White House Correspondents' Dinner alongside Hasan Minhaj, but rumors speculate whether or not President Donald Trump will be there.
The Saturday Night Live comedian is set to host this year's annual White House Correspondents' Dinner on April 25, but the White House has not said if Trump will attend, according to The New York Times.
Trump has been boycotting the event for the past three years. Trump's appearance at this year's dinner is unknown, ABC News reported.
Trump is no fan of comedians mocking his presidency, but the White House Correspondent's Association (WHCA) is working to bring back comedy for its 99th annual event.
"The dinner has a serious message, but we also believe it is as important as ever to be able to laugh — at ourselves, as well as at the people we cover," the White House Correspondents' Association president Jonathan Karl told The Times. "I'd argue that humor is more important now than ever."
Thompson has been quiet about his personal political views, and more interestingly, he told reporters that comedians and voters are feeling election fatigue and that comedy about Trump, or politics in general, is getting a little tiring.
"I think anything overly repetitive gets a little tiring," Thomspon said via The Hill. "But it seems like there's just Trump fatigue in general."
If Thompson is going to forgo political commentary in his roast altogether, would it persuade a joke-sensitive Trump to attend? That remains a question.
After comedian Michelle Wolf, who served as the featured entertainer for the White House Correspondents' Dinner in 2018, roasted the entire Trump administration, especially Sarah Huckabee Sanders, last year's dinner replaced comedians with historian and journalist Ron Chernow.
The return of comedians at the White House Correspondents' Dinner is seen as a return of form. The annual roast is an iconic tradition in which celebrities and other household names associated with journalists and news organizations are invited to mock elected officials.
According to the History Channel, this tradition began when Baltimore Sun reporter Michael Kelly arrived at the party with paparazzi target Fawn Hall, secretary to Oliver North during the Iran-Contra affair, in 1987.
Thompson is going to be the sixth Black entertainer and fourth comedian to host the event. He comes after entertainers such as comedians, Sinbad and Wanda Sykes, and singers, Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles, ABC News reported.
