Instead of attending the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, a tradition unbroken for 36 years, President Donald Trump will hold a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on April 29.

“Next Saturday night I will be holding a BIG rally in Pennsylvania. Look forward to it!”

“I will not be attending the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner this year,” Trump announced via Twitter back on February 25. “Please wish everyone well and have a great evening!”

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Then on Saturday, Trump unveiled his plan to host a competing event, one that would put him at the heart of a largely blue-collar state that delivered him victory in November.

“Next Saturday night I will be holding a BIG rally in Pennsylvania,” Trump tweeted. “Look forward to it!”

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April 29, the day of the Pennsylvania rally and the shunned WHCA dinner, will mark Trump’s 100th day in office. For a president who has clashed so regularly with an openly hostile and biased press corps and who connects so well with ordinary voters, it seems a fitting move. The rally will be held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center, far from the glittering WHCA dinner that in recent years has been dubbed “nerd prom.”

Despite the absence of the president or any White House staff,  the WHCA dinner will continue with roughly 2,000 members of the media, celebrities, and other elites.

In the run-up to the event, Trump has again clashed openly with the mainstream media, blasting press coverage downplaying his accomplishments in the first 100 days.

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“No matter how much I accomplish during the ridiculous standard of the first 100 days, & it has been a lot (including S.C.), media will kill!” Trump tweeted Friday.

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So rather than spend an evening with a press corps eager to undermine him, Trump will speak directly to Americans outside the Beltway, who are anxiously awaiting the fulfillment of his campaign promises. Trump can recommit himself to delivering results for voters waiting to see continued enforcement of immigration law, trade reform, tax reform, and the repeal of Obamacare.