A White House Correspondents’ Dinner hangover

By now, you have surely got a flavor of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and all the accompanying parties that took place over the weekend. After all, the DC media has nothing to talk about other than itself. The President long ago chose not to attend, and that the intimation was that members of his administration should skip the “MSM” events too. There were fewer celebrities than ever – not least because the White House Correspondents’ Association got rid of the comedian who was set to provide the entertainment. The gargantuan TIME after-party – your correspondent saw the entry tally at over 2,470 when he arrived at 11:30 – smelled like feet due to the Raclette on the rear terrace. But let Cockburn escort you around the bits you might have missed.

The ABC reception ahead of the dinner was perhaps the most overwhelming: the room was so darkly lit that it gave the impression of being concussed. “I feel like I’m in an aquarium,” one of Cockburn’s comrades noted, as they gravitated toward the light of the bar. It contained all the ingredients of a good time – telegenic, well-dressed guests, plenty of alcohol, a DJ – but it was impossible to get a photo, or get served. Far less tricky was the Swiss Embassy, whose bartenders turned a blind eye to your correspondent swiping beers from the side of the bar through the night.

A bevy of administration officials was spotted Saturday at the Occidental for the launch of Omeed Malik’s $500k private members’ club – which sounds like a Marc Andreessen groupchat made flesh – while Marco Rubio and Kari Lake made an appearance at Butterworth’s the same night. A number of officials also popped up at the Daily Mail’s boozy Friday night bash at the British Embassy: Cockburn sidestepped Dr. Oz and his wife under the porch while attempting to avoid the rain, and apparently VA Secretary Doug Collins was also present. One highlight of the evening was observing War Room cohost Natalie Winters – a current Mail favorite – getting a frosty reception from Fox News’s Kennedy (Kennedy, you may recall, wrote in January that Winters dresses like she “wants to be a hostess at Hooters”). Eventually the pair bonded. Your correspondent also snapped a picture of Winters posing with Taylor Lorenz:

So this happened 🙃@TaylorLorenz pic.twitter.com/SgcmKWrYrR

— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) April 26, 2025

Over on Twitter alternative BlueSky, the progressives are accusing the former Washington Post columnist of making a “MAGA heel turn.” “I think these people’s brains can only think in terms of team sports,” Lorenz told Cockburn. On less friendly terms with Winters: a group of Mail reporters who declined the opportunity to be introduced to their star subject. Cockburn suggests they locate their inner Bill Maher.

The British Embassy also hosted CNN’s hangover brunch in glorious Sunday sunshine. Cockburn clocked a lot of network talent – Jake Tapper, Wolf Blitzer, Brian Stelter, David Chalian – before peeling off to the well-stocked Bloody Mary bar. Here he heard a novel suggestion on how to make the weekend less weird from the Washington Free Beacon’s Jon Levine: “They should let Trump pick the comedian next year,” he said, “then he’ll come.” Tony Hinchcliffe, your time is now.

The most eclectic mix of guests could be found at Substack’s Saturday shindig at the Line, which counterprogrammed the dinner. Cockburn spotted Mehdi Hasan chatting to former GOP congressman Joe Walsh – oh to be a fly on the wall – as well as Cenk Uygur, Michael Cohen, Rick Wilson, Alex Berenson, Tina Brown, Meghan McCain, Tara Palmeri and Sean Spicer. Come to think of it, Cockburn thinks Spicer was at every event he was at.

But no, the main folk at the WHCD parties were journalists and influencers – Oliver Darcy’s Thursday party for his Status newsletter at the Wharf was almost exclusively occupied by the former. And many of them were struggling. “It sounds cheesy, but folks seem to be holding on a little bit longer in hugs,” one Washington observer told Politico Playbook Friday. Not close enough for some of you, apparently.

On our radar

PRIME TIME Amazon has nixed the idea of displaying tariff costs on its products after President Trump complained to CEO Jeff Bezos.

CANADA GOOSED Mark Carney’s Liberals won Canada’s election last night, with his main rival Conservative Pierre Poilievre losing his seat.

CENTURION President Trump is set to mark his 100th day in office with a speech in Warren, Michigan, tonight.

Desperate Democrat files Trump impeachment articles

Congressman Shri Thanedar, 70, is a Democrat running for reelection who is set to face an upstart challenger from within his own party in 2026. So Thanedar just announced, via a deeply cringe video, that he wants to impeach President Donald Trump – yes, again.

Coincidence? Perhaps not. Impeaching Trump has long been a cause célèbre for the Democratic party faithful, and Thanedar and his infamously dubious toupee are the latest to hop on that train.

The replies to his video are as grotesque as you’d expect from Elon Musk’s X. Many went the predictable “bobs-and-vagene” route, mocking Thanedar for his Indian accent and horrible backdrop. “This will be your greatest victory since getting Hank Azaria fired from playing Apu,” one response read. “this looks like a CGI composite of every race and every gender, even the imaginary ones,” wrote Michael Malice.

The Thanedar affair could offer a learning opportunity: to take a step back, stop the fundraising gimmicks, lower the rhetoric, get better hairpieces and #BeBest. Instead it’s another grim chapter on Washington’s worst excesses.

Birdwatching

President Trump welcomed the Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles to the White House Rose Garden yesterday afternoon. During his remarks, the President recounted being at the game in New Orleans. “I was there along with Taylor Swift, how did that work out?” he said, to laughs. Swift, as well as being a prominent Democrat, is dating defeated Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who had played terribly.

The President also praised Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, with whom he had golfed at the weekend. “He’s a handsome guy but I wouldn’t wanna tackle him,” Trump joked.

“He called all the players ‘huge people’ 10+ times,” one attendee told Cockburn.

Trump reiterated his support for the “tush-push”: a contentious Eagles play otherwise known as the “brotherly shove” in which the quarterback Jalen Hurts is pushed over the line by his team-mates. The President first revealed his support for the play in a Spectator interview two months ago. Hurts opted not to attend, citing “scheduling conflicts.” Other high-profile players who skipped the trip included A.J. Brown, Jalen Carter and DeVonta Smith.

One man wouldn’t have missed it for the world: notorious head of security “Big” Dom DiSandro. “This is a guy, they say he loves Trump,” the President said. “I had Saquon give him a big beautiful hat last night.”

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