The White House Correspondents Association will not feature anti-Trump comic Amber Ruffin at this year’s annual dinner after the White House complained about her on Friday.

WHCA President Eugene Daniels announced the news Saturday in an email obtained by CNN’s Brian Stelter.

Daniels announced the decision not to have a comic at the WHCA dinner after complaints from White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich about comments Ruffin made on The Daily Beast podcast Friday.

Ruffin said on the show that the Trump White House is staffed with “murderers” who are not “human beings.”

Daniels’ letter read in full:

Dear White House Press Corps colleagues,

The board is looking forward to our dinner on April 26 as a celebration of the foundational American value of a free and independent press. For the past couple of weeks, I have been planning a re-envisioning of our dinner tradition for this year. As the date nears, I will share more details of the plans in place to honor journalistic excellence and a robust, independent media covering the most powerful office in the world. As a first step, I wanted to share that the WHCA board has unanimously decided we are no longer featuring a comedic performance this year. At this consequential moment for journalism, I want to ensure the focus is not on the politics of division but entirely on awarding our colleagues for their outstanding work and providing scholarship and mentorship to the next generation of journalists.

I also want to take this opportunity to encourage all WHCA member news organizations again to include at your tables all the working journalists who actually cover the White House every day bringing Americans and the world the news they need to stay informed. Looking forward to seeing you all and your guests there,

Eugene

It was not implied and was not immediately clear whether the administration’s complaints influenced the WHCA’s decision.

The post BREAKING: WHCA Backs Down on Anti-Trump Comic Hosting Dinner ‘To Ensure Focus Is Not On Politics Of Division’ After Trump Admin Complains first appeared on Mediaite.

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