Trump excoriated by Michelle Wolf after president's taunts over White House Correspondents’ Dinner

'I bet you'd be on my side if I had killed a journalist,' comedian tells president

Donald Trump was firmly shot down by comedian Michelle Wolf after he suggested the White House Correspondents’ Dinner would no longer feature a comic because she “bombed so badly last year”.

Ms Wolf, who ruffled feathers by brutally ridiculing the president and his aides at the Washington press corps’ last annual event, responded to the taunt on Twitter: “I bet you’d be on my side if I had killed a journalist.”

Her comment referenced Mr Trump’s continued support for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who US intelligence agencies believe ordered the murder of writer Jamal Khashoggi.

Ms Wolf added a hashtag, #BeBest, used by Mr Trump’s wife Melania to promote an anti-bullying campaign.

The comedian also took aim at the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA), the dinner’s organisers, who she branded “cowards” over the announcement of historian and author Ron Chernow as the headline speaker for the next event in April.

The dinner traditionally features a comedian who pokes fun at the president, who then makes a light-hearted speech of their own.

Ms Wolf caused a backlash earlier at this year’s event with a savage 20-minute monologue in which she ripped into the president and some of his most controversial policies, as well as his daughter Ivanka and White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Republicans and some journalists took issue with the routine, which the WHCA said was “not in the spirit” of its dinner.

But others praised Ms Wolf for not pulling any punches and the comedian insisted she “wouldn’t change a single word” of her routine.

Responding to the announcement that the next dinner’s speaker would not be a comedian, Ms Wolf tweeted: “The @whca are cowards. The media is complicit. And I couldn’t be prouder.”

Mr Trump, who broke with tradition by skipping the last two dinners, suggested he may now attend next April.

The president tweeted: “So-called comedian Michelle Wolf bombed so badly last year at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that this year, for the first time in decades, they will have an author instead of a comedian.

“Good first step in comeback of a dying evening and tradition! Maybe I will go?”

Mr Chernow, an author of presidential biographies, said he had been asked to speak about the First Amendment at the dinner.

“I am happy to oblige,” he said. “Freedom of the press is always a timely subject and this seems like the perfect moment to go back to basics.”

He added: “While I have never been mistaken for a stand-up comedian, I promise that my history lesson won’t be dry.”