LGBTQ Dating App Grindr to Host First White House Correspondent Weekend Party: Is Trump Attending?

Grindr's move into the crowded Washington social calendar has added an unexpected twist to this year's White House Correspondents' Weekend, with the LGBTQ dating app set to host its first-ever party ahead of the main dinner in the US capital on 25 April 2026.

The announcement comes as speculation builds over whether President Donald Trump will attend the annual White House Correspondents' Association event, after he said in March that he planned to show up.

The WHCA dinner—often nicknamed 'Nerd Prom'—has long been one of Washington's most high-profile political and media gatherings, bringing together journalists, lawmakers, and public figures. Pre-dinner events have become almost as significant as the main evening itself, with brands and organisations increasingly competing for visibility.

Grindr Enters The WHCA Weekend Party

Grindr, the LGBTQ dating app, will host what it is calling the 'White House Correspondents' dinner Weekend Party' the night before the main gala. The event is scheduled for Washington's Georgetown neighbourhood and is expected to draw policymakers, journalists, and LGBTQ community leaders.

According to The Hill, the invitation says it aims to 'bring together policymakers, journalists, and LGBTQ community leaders as we toast the First Amendment.'

Joe Hack, Grindr's head of global government affairs, said the decision reflects the platform's growing engagement with policy issues in Washington. He pointed to discussions around HIV funding, privacy, online safety, and LGBTQ+ family rights as matters that directly affect users of the app.

'Grindr represents a global community with real stakes in Washington. The issues being debated here — HIV funding, privacy and online safety, LGBTQ+ family rights — are daily life for our community,' Hack said in a statement. He also added, 'Nobody does connections like Grindr, and WHCD weekend is the most iconic place in the country to make them. We figured it was time to host.'

The move places Grindr among a growing list of companies and organisations seeking to anchor themselves in Washington's political social circuit, particularly during WHCA weekend.

Some of the most common past hosts include major media outlets like Politico, Vanity Fair, Bloomberg, The Hollywood Reporter, and Condé Nast brands such as Vogue and Vanity Fair, which often run exclusive invitation-only events for journalists, celebrities, and political figures.

Tech and entertainment companies have also taken part, with brands like Google, Amazon, Netflix, and HBO regularly appearing in or around the weekend through private receptions, sponsored gatherings, or affiliate events tied to media partnerships.

Is Trump Attending?

Attention around this year's WHCA dinner has also been shaped by President Donald Trump's comments in March, when he said he intended to attend the event at the Washington Hilton.

Trump did not attend the WHCA dinner during his first term in office, a break from tradition that distinguished his relationship with the press corps from many of his predecessors. In a post on Truth Social, Trump described his vision for the evening in characteristically expansive terms, saying he would make the gathering the 'greatest, hottest, and most spectacular dinner, of any kind, ever!'

The White House Correspondents' Dinner has historically been both a fundraising event for journalism scholarships and a symbolic moment of engagement between the press and the US presidency, though in recent years it has also become more politically charged.