Trump to skip correspondents' dinner as media row heats up

Washington : President Donald Trump ratcheted up his feud with the US media Saturday, announcing he will skip the annual correspondents' dinner one day after a row erupted over White House press access.

By skipping the April 29 event Trump breaks a tradition in which the US president is the guest of honor at a light-hearted roast held by journalists and studded with celebrities.

"I will not be attending the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner this year. Please wish everyone well and have a great evening!" Trump wrote on Twitter.

The White House Correspondents Association, which has organized the annual dinner since 1921 to raise money for journalism scholarships, said it would go ahead with the event as planned.

The dinner "has been and will continue to be a celebration of the First Amendment [on freedom of the press] and the important role played by an independent news media in a healthy republic," WHCA president Jeff Mason tweeted.

Trump built his presidential campaign on criticizing the mainstream US press -- whose editorial boards overwhelmingly opposed his election -- and has intensified his rhetoric since taking office, routinely accusing the media of bias in overstating his setbacks and downplaying his accomplishments.