As protests sweep college campuses across the country, it was perhaps inevitable that activists would descend upon the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, the anchor of a four-day blitz of cocktail receptions, brunches, and late-night parties celebrating the fourth estate. The flurry of festivities offered an opportunity to get within earshot of policy makers and influential members of the press.
Nearby were fellow CAA clients Chris Pine, Fallon sidekick Steve Higgins, and The Daily Show’s Jordan Klepper. Klepper seemed lukewarm on the Washington party circuit. “This weekend is an existential nightmare for many folks,” he told me. The opulence of the room—adorned with a gilded ceiling, wraparound mezzanine, and enormous palms and flowers—was not lost on NBC’s Chief White House correspondent Peter Alexander.