President Trump and first lady Melania Trump will not attend the annual Kennedy Center Honors to allow the honorees to celebrate “without any political distraction,” the White House said Saturday. “First lady Melania Trump, along with her husband, President Donald J. Trump, extend their sincerest congratulations and well wishes to all of this year's award recipients for their many accomplishments,” the White House press office said in the release. The backlash from Trump’s remarks, after he previously denounced the supremacists and neo-Nazis, also resulted in mass departures for two presidential councils, including the President’s Committee on Arts and the Humanities. The 40th annual event at the Kennedy Center, in Washington, D.C., is historically attended by the first family. This year’s event is scheduled to be held on Dec. 3.

Source: Fox News August 19, 2017 12:11 UTC