The White House Correspondents' Dinner was once Washington's biggest night. With no Trump expected, will the dinner be stale?

A White House correspondents’ dinner that lacks the traditional comedy act doesn’t necessarily translate to a more somber-than-usual evening. In 2019, the historian Ron Chernow gave a lecture and everyone had a pretty decent time; in 2003, Ray Charles sang instead. Hard to imagine that was anything less than a treat for guests.

There was no president. There was no comedian. What remained at the White House Correspondents’ Association’s annual dinner on Saturday night were the journalists and the First Amendment.