Trump, tuxes and the wizard that is Oz
Plus, What to watch for during WHCD weekend
Good Friday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we preview the events around this weekend’s White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington, and report on new FEC filings indicating that Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed accepted donations from an antisemitic conspiracy theorist whose son was paid tens of thousands of dollars by the campaign for consulting services. We report on new legislation from Reps. Tom Suozzi and Max Miller that aims to create buffer zones around religious institutions, and cover efforts by NY-17 Democratic candidates Cait Conley and Beth Davidson to distance themselves from Senate Democrats’ legislation to block all arms sales to Israel. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: George Deek, Bob Iger and Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with assists from Danielle Cohen-Kanik and Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- The ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon that was set to expire this weekend was extended for three weeks following yesterday’s White House meeting, facilitated by President Donald Trump, between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the U.S. Speaking to reporters following the meeting, Trump expressed hope that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun would meet at the White House during the ongoing ceasefire. Read more here.
- It’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner weekend in Washington. Trump is slated to make his first appearance as president at the annual dinner, which will take place tomorrow night at the Washington Hilton. Around Washington, the parties on the sidelines of tomorrow night’s so-called Nerd Prom have already begun. Last night, Trump attended a dinner hosted by Skydance Paramount CEO David Ellison honoring the president and CBS News correspondents at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Read more here.
- On Long Island today, Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) will hold a press conference with Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt to announce the introduction of a federal version of the buffer zone bills that have been put forward in a handful of cities and states. Read our interview with Suozzi below.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S EMILY JACOBS AND MARC ROD
A who’s who of the leading names in media, tech and global and domestic politics are flocking to the nation’s capital for the scores of exclusive parties surrounding the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner this Saturday — where President Donald Trump will make his first-ever appearance as president and deliver a roast of the political press corps.
The correspondents’ dinner, and the parties thrown in its honor, have always generated enough fanfare to maintain its status as the biggest weekend of the social calendar in Washington. This year, however, is being treated inside the Beltway as the most high-profile WHCD weekend in at least a decade, the result of Trump’s decision to participate in this year’s dinner after boycotting it for his entire presidency.
In addition to Trump’s roast, guests will be entertained by Oz Pearlman, a famed mentalist known for his mind-reading tricks. Pearlman, who is Jewish and was born in Israel, marks a shift from the traditional entertainment choice at the dinner, which is usually a monologue delivered by a comedian. Those comedians’ jokes about Trump were a factor in why the president has skipped previous dinners, and the White House Correspondents’ Association canceled its planned entertainer last year over backlash to her past comments.
The dinner could make for some awkward moments: one of the WHCA’s award winners this year is a team from The Wall Street Journal, for reporting on Trump’s ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein — an article that led Trump to sue the Journal. And that’s not to mention Trump’s routine hostility toward and criticisms of the media more broadly. It is unclear if the president will be present for the award ceremony.
Celebrities have historically flocked to Washington for WHCD weekend, though the number of famous names willing to appear for the dinner or other events dwindled during the first Trump administration. That trend began to reverse during the Biden administration, though it picked up again last year when Trump returned to office.
Nicki Minaj, the rap superstar who has become an advocate for the Trump administration, will be attending the dinner as a guest of the Washington Times. No other media organizations have announced celebrity guests for their respective tables at the dinner.
Regardless of a diminished turnout of famous faces, this weekend will be jam-packed with nonstop events, and it has already begun.
JI’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod will be out and about in the district this weekend, as well as at Saturday’s dinner. If you spot them at any of the events, take this as your invitation to say hello.
FOLLOW THE MONEY
Abdul El-Sayed brings in campaign cash from head of Hamas-cheering group

Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed has taken donations from a deep-pocketed activist whose group spearheaded the pro-Hamas protests that targeted a Queens synagogue in January — while the far-left candidate has at the same time paid tens of thousands in campaign funds to her son, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman and Marc Rod report.
Paper trail: The latest Federal Election Commission filings show El-Sayed has received a total of $7,000 from Amani Barakat, the chair of Al-Awda-Palestinian Right of Return Coalition and a promoter of antisemitic conspiracy theories linking Jewish people to the Illuminati. It’s part of $33,550 that El-Sayed has taken in total from the Barakat family, a Palestinian-American real estate dynasty based in Southern California.
Slotkin says: Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) joined other Michigan Democrats in condemning Amir Makled, a Democratic nominee for regent of the University of Michigan, over Makled’s past comments on social media expressing antisemitic sentiments and support for terrorism, JI’s Marc Rod reports.










































































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