Over 250 journalists signed a letter to the White House Correspondents Association asking them to send a message condemning Donald Trump’s attacks on the First Amendment:

“The collective weight of the administration's actions - retaliatory access bans, coercive regulatory investigations, frivolous lawsuits against the press, defunding of public broadcasting, dismantling of international broadcasting, physical restrictions on journalists, personal verbal attacks on reporters, assaults on the media in official White House press releases and social media posts, the arrest of journalists, and the pardoning of those who committed violence against the press - represent the most systematic and comprehensive assault on freedom of the press by a sitting American president.”

The letter proceeds to list all of his attacks.

In a powerful open letter, retired star journalists Rather (94) and Donaldson (92), along with more than 250 other members of the press, are urging the White House Correspondents’ Association to stop the usual polite nonsense and use this week’s dinner to directly confront Donald Trump’s unprecedented attacks on the free press.

The letter states that Trump’s “systematic, sustained, and unprecedented” assault on journalism – including retaliatory bans, lawsuits, defunding public broadcasting, arrests of reporters, and constant verbal attacks – makes it impossible for the dinner to continue as “business as usual.”

They are calling on the WHCA to issue a strong, public defense of the First Amendment from the podium, deliver a direct condemnation of Trump’s behavior, and toast the Constitution in front of the man who has spent years trying to destroy press freedom.

This is a remarkable moment: some of the most respected names in American journalism are saying enough is enough. Enough normalizing. Enough smiling and clapping while Trump attacks the free press every single day.

The letter makes clear that freedom of the press is not a partisan issue but a cornerstone of democracy, and must be defended.

President Donald Trump is preparing to throw a scripted tantrum at the White House Correspondents' Dinner this year, reported The Daily Beast on Wednesday.

"Donald Trump will launch a 'revenge' attack on the White House media when he confronts them in person at a Washington dinner on Saturday night — then flee before there can be revenge," said the report. "He is expected to target publications that he has accused of writing negatively about his administration and his war with Iran, in particular, according to sources."

This would track with his recent rants on Truth Social, where he has accused of the media of rigging reports about the Iran war to make it look like it's going worse than it actually is.

After he is done with his speech, said the report, he is skipping on the rest of the ceremony — in large part because he doesn't want to stick around for an award being given to a story that revealed his closeness to deceased financier and accused child trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

"Trump will leave the White House Correspondents’ Association event after making his speech, so he will miss the presentation of press awards — one of which would be certain to embarrass him," said the report. "He has told aides he has no intention of still being in the International Ballroom at the Washington Hilton when the Wall Street Journal is honored with the Katherine Graham award for its scoop about a bawdy letter Trump allegedly wrote for Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday card."