who was the last president to skip the WH Correspondents Dinner?

[boston bean]

And for what reason??

Anyone know?

[samnsara]

1. dunno but im not gonna miss watching this one!!!

[OKNancy]

5. me either. I was going to skip it. This one should be a blast

[Chasstev365]

2. Millard Fillmore?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

13. Millard didn't go because the dinners didn't start until 1920.

So he can be forgiven.

[Chasstev365]

19. LOL! Good one!

[HipChick]

3. He's a coward...most bullies are..Insecure and paranoid..

[C_U_L8R]

4. I don't know but...

Alec Baldwin just CANNOT miss this one !!!

[NewJeffCT]

10. They should have him play Trump

for the night

[C_U_L8R]

14. Forget Golden Globes or Emmies

that could be a Nobel Prize winning performance.

[malaise]

6. Reagan because he was shot

100 years for the others.

Heard that on CNN

[highplainsdem]

7. Reagan in 1981. He was recovering from that assassination attempt.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

9. OK, he gets a pass for missing that one.

Nobody else does unless they're similarly indisposed. SCROTUS is blowing it off because he hates the media and is afraid he'll be teased again. The dinners started in 1920. According to Wikipedia, some dinners have been cancelled or downsized over the years "due to deaths or political crises. The dinner was cancelled in 1930 due to the death of former president William Howard Taft; in 1942, following the United States' entry into World War II; and in 1951, over what President Harry S. Truman called the "uncertainty of the world situation."" But if the dinner is happening, the president goes to it. As far as I can tell, SCROTUS is the first ever to just decline to show up.

[appleannie1943]

8. Poor baby. Someone might say something mean and people might laugh at him.

[leftstreet]

11. Narcissists and sociopaths can't laugh at themselves. Ever. n/t

[WePurrsevere]

17. True... At others yes, themselves no. nt

[putitinD]

16. no, he is just showing us that HE is in charge. He thinks he will ruin the whole event by

not going.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

12. ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028709261

[Else You Are Mad]

15. Trump is afraid that...

people are going to make fun of his insecurities! Plus, he knows that he would not be able to top Obama's Correspondent's Dinner.

Also, he probably has plans to golf that day.

[canetoad]

18. They need someone with:

Wit
Self-deprecating humour
Lightening reflexes
An extensive vocabulary
Impeccable timing....

Invite Obama.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

20. The GOP doesn't have anybody like that

with the possible exception of Lindsay Graham, who can be pretty funny. But realistically they don't have a stand-in they can send. They're all glum, cranky and assholish.

[irisblue]

25. my first thought!

Canetoad.

[rug]

21. JFK refused to go until they admitted women.

http://whca.net/history.htm

[dixiegrrrrl]

22. Reagan, 'cause of his being shot.

So sayth the inter-tubes.

[Zambero]

23. Al Gore

He was duly elected in 2000, but the loser's brother pulled some strings, it went up to the Supreme Court, and the rest is infamy.

[Delmette2.0]

24. George W Bush, I think.

I don't know what year it was but Laura Bush gave the speech. And mentioned something about Desperate Housewives, the tv show.

I really tried to ignore the fluff about that family so that's why i'm not sure about the details.

[dflprincess]

26. Nixon was the last one who chose not to go

Reagan was last one who missed it - but as he was recovering from being shot he gets a pass. (And I think I read he still sent a recorded greeting).