Updated Friday, April 24, 2015 at 4 p.m. PT with guests of The Guardian
The impossible is happening at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner: Donald Trump is returning for the possibility of more punishment.
Four years after Trump was repeatedly pummeled at the event not only by the night’s host, Seth Meyers, but by President Barack Obama himself, Trump is slated to be a guest of Fox.
Whether Trump will attract the attention this time he did last time is uncertain. Four years ago, Trump was a possible presidential candidate and someone who repeatedly questioned the veracity of Obama’s birth certificate, drawing the president’s comments.
“Donald Trump is here tonight!” the president said during that 2011 speech. “I know that he’s taken some flak lately. But no one is happier, no one is prouder, to put this birth certificate matter to rest than The Donald.”
“And that’s because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter — like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?” Obama said, before pushing forward.
“All kidding aside,” Obama said. “Obviously we know about your credentials and breadth of experience.”
“For example — seriously — in an episode of ‘Celebrity Apprentice,’ at the steak house, the men’s cooking team did not impress the judges from Omaha Steaks,” the president continued. “And there was a lot of blame to go around. But you, Mr. Trump, recognized that the real problem was a lack of leadership. And so ultimately you didn’t blame Little John or Meatloaf. You fired Gary Busey. And these are the kinds of decisions that would keep me up at night.”
Fox said that besides Trump, its guests Saturday will include his wife Melania Trump, “Gossip Girl” actress Kelly Rutherford, “Walking Dead” actress Alanna Masterson, Brody Jenner, tennis great Billie Jean King, and Martha Stewart.
NBC News said its guests will include SNL’s Lorne Michaels; film director Peter Farrelly; figure skaters Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir; Education Secretary Arne Duncan; Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, Bob Casey Jr. and Pat Toomey; A&E President Paul Buccieri; and Cecilia Muñoz, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council.
Among its other guests: Tina Tchen, assistant to the president and chief of staff to the first lady; celebrity chef Tom Colicchio; Obama speechwriter Cody Keenan; and NBA coach Don Nelson.
NBC also said that Andy Lack, Phil Griffin and Mark Hoffman will be among network executives present.
The Washington Post said its guests would include Labor Secretary Tom Perez; Treasury Secretary Jack Lew; Export-Import Bank Chairman-President Fred Hochberg; AOL co-founder Steve Case and Jean Case, CEO of The Case Foundation; and Megan Smith, chief technology officer in the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
The Guardian said Friday that its guests will include “Harry Potter” actor Alan Rickman; “Doctor Who,” “Broadchurch” and “Gracepoint” actor David Tennant and his wife, actress Georgia Moffett; and Turner Prize-winning artist Chris Ofili.