WHCA scraps comedian headliner at annual dinner after performer says Trump admin full of 'murderers'

The White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) has scrapped plans to have comedian Amber Ruffin perform at the association's annual dinner on April 26 after the comedian said that members of the Trump administration are "a bunch of murderers."

According to the New York Post, in a letter on Saturday, WHCA President Eugene Daniels wrote, “The WHCA board has unanimously decided we are no longer featuring a comedic performance this year. At this consequential moment for journalism, I want to ensure the focus is not on the politics of division but entirely on awarding our colleagues for their outstanding work and providing scholarship and mentorship to the next generation of journalists.”

The letter comes after she told the Daily Beast that the Trump administration was "a bunch of murderers" and added that she would not want to target both sides of the political aisle with her jokes as told to her by the WHCA. She added that telling jokes to both sides makes those in the Trump administration "feel like human beings, but they shouldn’t get to feel that way, ‘cause they’re not.”  

In February, Ruffin commented that "nobody wants" Trump to be going to the WHCA event. Alongside a clip of Ruffin saying that the Trump administration is full of "murderers," White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich wrote before Ruffin was pulled, "This year’s WHCA dinner will be hosted by a 2nd rate comedian who is previewing the event by calling this administration 'murderers' who want to 'feel like human beings, but they shouldn’t get to feel that way, because you’re not.'"

"What kind of responsible, sensible journalist would attend something like this? More importantly, what kind of company would sponsor such [a] hate-filled and violence-inspiring event?" Budowich added.

During his first term, Trump skipped out on the dinners and called them "so boring and so negative."

After the WHCA posted a statement announcing the removal of Ruffin, Budowich posted, “No accountability at WHCA, just a cop out statement—pathetic!”

“Many WHCA members are privately pointing the finger at Eugene for making the unilateral decision to recruit and sign this garbage, hate-filled comedian. Yet, they are all turning a blind eye to it publicly,” he added.