Saturday Night Live “Weekend Update” co-anchor Colin Jost will be the featured entertainer at its annual dinner, the White House Correspondents’ Association announced. The White House annual dinner will take place on Saturday, April 27.
“Colin Jost knows how to make Saturday nights funny, and I am thrilled Colin will be live from the nation’s capital as the headline entertainer for this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner,” said Kelly O’Donnell, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association and NBC News senior White House correspondent.
The featured WHCA entertainer, Jost, is a writer, performer, and author, most notably known for being the co-anchor of SNL’s “Weekend Update” since 2014.
“His sharp insights perfectly meet this remarkable time of divided politics, and a presidential campaign careening toward a rematch. His smart brand of comedy and keen observation will turn up the heat on the national news media and across the political spectrum. A night of laughs and reflections as our dinner honors freedom of the press as a cornerstone of American democracy. I am beyond excited to welcome one of NBC’s brightest stars to one of Washington’s greatest traditions,” O’Donnell added.
Jost has had an expansive career beginning as a reporter and editor for the Staten Island Advance newspaper, a writer for the Harvard Crimson, president of the Harvard Lampoon, and editor-in-chief of The Owl. His career has earned him five Writers Guild Awards, two Peabody Awards, and 14 Emmy Awards nominations for his writing on SNL.
Traditionally, the president and first lady, senior government officials, and members of the press corps attend the White House Communications Agency (WHCA) dinner, and the proceeds generated by the event finance the WHCA’s work. This includes funding awards that recognize excellence in the profession and scholarships for journalism students, awards with the hope of building a next generation of White House journalists.
The WHCA was founded in 1914, and since its inception has worked to create transparency by facilitating access for journalists to seek answers from government officials, including the president.
