Kenan Thompson to host White House Correspondents' Dinner

Saturday Night Live's Kenan Thompson is to host the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner.

The prestigious event honouring U.S. political journalists has traditionally featured comedians joking with reporters, invited guests, and the nation's leader, but incumbent President Donald Trump has skipped the event for the past three years.

After turning to historian Ron Chernow to host a more serious edition in 2019, White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) bosses have now announced humour will return in 2020, with Thompson hosting and funnyman Hasan Minhaj as the featured entertainer.

"Kenan and Hasan are two of the most engaged and engaging entertainers in America. I'm thrilled they'll help us celebrate the role of a free press in our democracy," ABC News' Jonathan Karl, the WHCA's President, said in a statement. "We're looking forward to a lively evening honouring the most important political journalism of the past year."

Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, Conan O'Brien, Wanda Sykes, and Larry Wilmore are among the stars who have hosted the event, which in recent years has poked fun at the Trump administration's frosty relations with White House reporters.

Trump was also memorably mocked to his face by then-President Barack Obama at the event in 2011 over his support for the "birther" movement that claimed he wasn't born in the U.S.