NPR

Trump's Absence Loomed Large At Annual White House Correspondents' Dinner

The gathering of D.C. journalists, which had been a top draw for Hollywood celebrities during the Obama administration, took on a different air this year as the new president decided not to attend.
Will Ferrell performs onstage during <em>Full Frontal With Samantha Bee's</em> Not The White House Correspondents' Dinner at in Washington, D.C., Saturday.

"Is anyone going to come through here?"

That's what a Hilton hotel employee asked one of a dozen photographers along the red carpet at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner a couple of hours before the event officially started Saturday evening. But, like a blood-thirsty mosquito on a sweltering night, it was the nagging, persistent thought that seemed to plague attendees throughout the event.

The reason: the vacuum left by the absence of President Donald Trump who had

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