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Trump Will Hold Rally Instead of Attending White House Correspondents' Dinner

President Donald Trump revealed on Saturday what he would be doing instead of attending the White House Correspondents' Dinner — holding a rally.
Donald Trump
President Donald Trump gives a thumbs-up as he walks across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Sunday, April 9, 2017. Trump is returning from a trip to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla.Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

President Donald Trump revealed on Saturday what he would be doing instead of attending the White House Correspondents' Dinner: holding a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Trump promised a "BIG" rally next Saturday — which happens to be his 100th day in office. He announced the event a day after he dismissed the 100-day measuring stick that functions as a de facto report card for a new presidency.

The rally will take place at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, which will have just wrapped up the Mid-Atlantic Alpaca Association Jubilee the Sunday prior.

Because the rally is the same night as the dinner, many correspondents will have to be in Harrisburg instead of Washington, D.C., for the annual event often referred to as "Nerd Prom."

Trump tweeted in February that he planned to skip the Correspondents' Dinner. He'll be the first president to skip the annual event since Ronald Reagan — who missed it while recovering from a gunshot wound sustained during a failed assassination attempt on his life less than a month earlier.

Trump's 2011 attendance at the White House Correspondents' Dinner went viral when then-president Barack Obama roasted the real estate mogul, who had claimed that Obama was not born in the United States.

Daily Show Correspondent Hasan Minhaj will host this year's event in Washington D.C.

Before sending a rally invite to his Twitter followers, Trump awarded the Purple Heart to Sgt. First Class Alvaro Barrietos, who was recently injured in Afghanistan.

"I wanted to do this myself," Trump said, as he pinned the Purple Heart to Barrietos's right lapel.