US President Donald Trump
© Carlos Barria / Reuters US President Donald Trump
US President Donald Trump has tweeted he is not going to be present at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner. The announcement comes after several high-profile news organizations, including Bloomberg and The New Yorker, withdrew from the event.

"I will not be attending the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner this year. Please wish everyone well and have a great evening!", Trump wrote.

Trump cancellation tweet
The tradition to hold annual dinners organized by the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) goes back the 1920s. The high-profile event honors journalists who report the White House and the US president.

For some years now, there has been a tradition for the serving US leader to attend the dinner and give a lighthearted speech.

This year's dinner is set to take place on April 29 at the Hinckley Hilton in Washington, DC.

During the WCHA dinner, a satirical take is delivered on the US president with a comedian typically invited to "roast" the leader and his politics. The president is also invited to give a satirical speech, in which the media is typically mocked in return.

Trump is known for his strained relationship with the US media, calling the New York Times "failing" as well criticizing several major news organizations as sources of "fake news."

In the most recent incident, the CNN, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Politico and Buzzfeed were banned from attending a White House press gaggle, a non-televised briefing by White House press secretary Sean Spicer, sparking widespread outrage.

Before Trump's decision to pull out of the dinner, several US media outlets refused to host parties at the dinner. The New Yorker announced early February it would not hold a party it typically holds at the beginning of the dinner. Vanity Fair magazine also withdrew from sponsoring its usual afterparty. Bloomberg said it would follow suit.

Trump's decision to skip the dinner comes after criticism of the event in recent years, with some people saying that it showed a too-cozy relationship between the media and the White House.