President Trump bragged about skipping the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner for the second year in a row during his campaign-style rally Saturday in Michigan.

More than an hour into his speech, Trump explained that he’d have to pretend like he was happy to be there while jokes were being made at his expense.

“Is this better than that phony Washington White House Correspondents’ dinner?” Trump asked the crowd.





“I could be up there tonight, smiling like I love when they are hitting you, shot after shot. These people hate your guts. Then I’m supposed to — and you know, you have got to smile. If you don’t smile they will say, ‘He was terrible. He couldn’t take it.’ If you do smile, they will say, ‘What was he smiling about?’ There’s no win.”

It’s the second consecutive year that Trump has held a rally outside of Washington, D.C., instead of attending the annual event that’s also known as “Nerd Prom.”