*By Alisha Haridasani*
Michelle Wolf will be a strong host for this year’s White House Correspondents dinner, said fellow comedian Jordan Klepper.
“She’s been a pro for years and one of the funniest voices out there,” Klepper told Cheddar Friday. “I’m just excited to sit back and watch her kill it.”
This year, President Trump has decided to again buck tradition and skip the dinner, a move that he will probably keep doing for years to come, said Klepper.
“The ability to have thick skin and play around with people” is not the president’s forte, the host of Comedy Central's "The Opposition" said. “The fact that he’s flying to Michigan [instead] on Saturday kind of proves that it’s going to be a while before he finds his way back into the White House Correspondents Dinner.”
Last year’s dinner was hosted by comedian Hasan Minhaj, who opened his speech by calling the event the [“series finale,”](http://time.com/4761644/hasan-minhaj-white-house-correspondents-dinner-speech-transcript/) taking a dig at Trump’s hatred for the media.
The dinner, sometimes called "Nerd Prom", is organized by the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA), which was founded in 1914 and champions a free, unfettered press. It takes place this Saturday.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-art-of-political-satire-with-comedian-jordan-klepper).
For President Donald Trump, tariffs — or the threat of them — can bend nations to his will.
President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking.
The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for a second time this year as it seeks to shore up economic growth and hiring even as inflation stays elevated. The move comes amid a fraught time for the central bank, with hiring sluggish and yet inflation stuck above the Fed’s 2% target. Compounding its challenges, the central bank is navigating without much of the economic data it typically relies on from the government. The Fed has signaled it may reduce its key rate again in December but the data drought raises the uncertainty around its next moves. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters that there were “strongly differing views” at the central bank's policy meeting about to proceed going forward.
U.S. and Chinese officials say a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies is drawing closer. The sides have reached an initial consensus for President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to aim to finalize during their high-stakes meeting Thursday in South Korea. Any agreement would be a relief to international markets. Trump's treasury secretary says discussions with China yielded preliminary agreements to stop the precursor chemicals for fentanyl from coming into the United States. Scott Bessent also says Beijing would make “substantial” purchases of soybean and other agricultural products while putting off export controls on rare earth elements needed for advanced technologies.
A new poll finds most U.S. adults are worried about health care becoming more expensive.
The White House budget office says mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.
