The White House Correspondents Dinner is usually an event of good will: the president is roasted, the president roasts back.
The event saw host Hasan Minhaj, of The Daily Show, tear into Donald Trump and his administration, despite apparently being asked not to.
Trump’s absence marked the first president-less Correspondents Dinner since Reagan skipped the event in 1981, missing the gathering after his infamous assassination attempt, though he still gave his regards via telephone.
“We are here to celebrate the press, not the presidency,” Mason continued.