It was a pretty fair bet that the White House Correspondant’s Dinner, nicknamed the ‘Nerd Prom’ was going to have some awkward moments. Yet it’s highly doubtful that anyone expected it to turn into such a raging dumpster fire.

The media and the WHC Association itself had been making much of the fact that President Trump was going to diss them again and be a big ole meany during a campaign rally.

White House Correspondents’ Association president Margaret Talev said, “We reject efforts by anyone, especially our elected leaders, to paint journalism as un-American.”

“An attack on one journalist is an attack on us all,” Talev, a Bloomberg reporter and CNN analyst added.

Yipes… that quote didn’t age well at all!  In fact, it had a shelf life of about 15 minutes.

Yes the WHCD is about people showing they can take a joke. Well, I mean, other people anywayhttps://t.co/5REA6pLqO3

— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) April 29, 2018

Exactly. So, What Happened? Well, an unfunny ‘comedienne’ by the name of Michelle Wolf turned the entire evening into a sewage filled dumpster fire. This was her opening line.

“Good evening, here we are at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner; like a porn star says when she’s about to have sex with Trump, let’s get this over with,” the first of many bawdy insults.

“Bawdy???!!” Uhhh…no. I’d call that offensive and definitely unfunny. This is as well.

Sure, some folks are reporting that she attacked the media themselves as if that makes everything else she vomited out ok. But no, no it doesn’t. To be true comedy, jokes aren’t specifically directed at a person. Michelle evidently never got that memo. Furthermore, for someone who said she was only there to make jokes without an agenda, her agenda was loud and clear.

The routine should’ve been entitled, ‘How deep into the sewer can I dig, how many personal attacks can I make, and how big of a dumpster fire can I light?’

NY Times Maggie Haberman, who was given an award at the dinner, sent this out.

That @PressSec sat and absorbed intense criticism of her physical appearance, her job performance, and so forth, instead of walking out, on national television, was impressive.

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) April 29, 2018

And Michelle fanned the flames a bit more.

https://twitter.com/michelleisawolf/status/990483756883628032

Many in the media who were there and watching from afar were not amused and, in fact, recognized the damage she incurred.

Unfortunately, I don't think we advanced the cause of journalism tonight.

— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) April 29, 2018

I’d say journalism took a major hit.

Michelle Wolf didn’t fail just because she was (spectacularly) one-sided. It was because she was unnecessarily cruel on a night the WHCA was trying to showcase decency and purpose.

Undermined an otherwise meaningful night.

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) April 29, 2018

Yes, exactly. In fact, I’d say Michelle’s supremely crass routine made life all the more difficult for credible journalists.

If the #WHCD dinner did anything tonight, it made the chasm between journalists and those who don't trust us, even wider. And those of us based in the red states who work hard every day to prove our objectivity will have to deal with it.

— Meg Kinnard (@MegKinnardAP) April 29, 2018

Yes, yes it did. Susan Katz Keating is one of many who saw last night as the dumpster fire it was, and makes an excellent point here. 

As you’ve probably seen in the media, the annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner was held last night in D.C. Over the years, I’ve been to some of these, but I always had an unsettled feeling in my gut about going. Truth is, the dinner as it now stands is corrupt and unethical. As journalists, we are charged with being independent chroniclers of events. We cannot schmooze, party, and hang out with the people we may wind up investigating.

There are credible journalists out there who work hard to objectively research and report on issues/people/events. What happened last night made things worse, not better, for great reporters like Susan.

Memo to the media hovering in the anti-Trump bubble, this doesn’t help your cause.

This was actually a giant gift to Trump. Many in the White House press corps don't even see that. https://t.co/lTUZqYvPJk

— David Martosko (@dmartosko) April 29, 2018

Yes, exactly. Michelle Wolf vomited up her crass brand of ‘comedy’ last night, and any remaining credibility the media had was hardest hit.