Presented by BP.

Good morning, everyone.

I'm Playbook Deputy Editor Zach Stanton.

It is Friday, April 25th.

And I'm joined today by Politico National Politics Correspondent Adam.

Good morning, Adam.

Good to be with you, Zach.

It's wonderful to have you here.

So there's a lot going on that's hugely important over the next few days.

Steve Whitkoff is due to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin today in Moscow.

And a cavalcade of world leaders are currently heading to Rome ahead of Pope Francis's funeral tomorrow morning at 4 a.m. Eastern time.

But here in Washington,

so much attention at the moment is on something that is a bit more navel-gazing. And that's the

annual White House Correspondence Dinner, which is tomorrow at the Washington Hilton. And honestly,

having been in D.C. now for quite some time, I've got to say that the general mood feels a little

bit different this year than it has in the past. Adam, you've been making the rounds around town

as you report. What are the vibes like? Yeah, the vibes are Zach and a word off. The vibes are,

the vibes are not there. I mean, originally, you know, this, this is an event that celebrates the press.

It is sort of an event that, you know, exemplifies comedy and comedy in Washington, you know,

where you have administration officials typically sit at the tables of news outlets. You have a lot of

administration officials fan out at parties around town. outlets. You have a lot of administration officials fan out

at parties around town. You know, it's sort of called and derided, but in a chummy way, nerd prom.

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