White House Correspondents' Dinner: Donald Trump hits out at 'actors and media' gathered at 'boring' event without him

It was the first time a President hadn't attended the ceremony since 1981

The White House Correspondents' Dinner had a completely different vibe due to the absence of Donald Trump - the first time the President has snubbed the event since 1981.

Instead, the President - who was celebrating his first 100 days in office - appeared at a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania where he criticised the media who were all gathered at the Washington Hilton for the annual event.

“A large group of Hollywood actors and Washington media are consoling each other in a hotel ballroom in our nation’s capital right now,” Trump said.

“They are trapped at the dinner, which will be very very boring - they are gathered together for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner without the president,” Deadline reports Trump as saying with “obvious glee.”

Reportedly, the only actor who seemed to be present at the dinner was Stranger Things actor Matthew Modine.

Trump, whose VP Mike Pence also ditched the event, used the opportunity to criticise the press.

Meanwhile, over in Washington, the evening's host - The Daily Show's Hasan Minhaj - ripped Trump apart despite organisers asking him not to.

The last time a President refused to attend the dinner was Ronald Reagan in 1981 who had been the source of an assassination attempt just a month previous.

“I could not possibly be more thrilled than to be more than 100 miles away from the Washington swamp with all of you and a much larger crowd and better people,” Trump told his crowd of supporters at the rally.

In reaction to Trump's decision. US talk show host Samantha Bee recorded a Not The White house Correspondents' Dinner special on her series Full Frontal on Saturday (29 April).