ABC News(LOS ANGELES) — When Hollywood stars celebrate their Oscar wins at the annual Governors Ball bash on Sunday, Donald and Melania Trump will be hosting their own White House Governors’ Ball in Washington, D.C.
The scheduling conflict means Trump will likely not be watching the 89th Academy Awards live on TV.
“The first lady has put a lot of time into this event that’s going to occur and welcoming our nation’s governors to the capital,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters Wednesday. “And I have a feeling that that’s where the president and the first lady are going to be focused on on Sunday night, and so we’ll go from there.”
Trump did not tweet about the Academy Awards last year. Instead, in between appearances on Sunday morning shows and a speech in Alabama, Trump directed at least one of his Feb. 28 tweets at his then-presidential opponent, Sen. Marco Rubio, calling him a “lightweight no show Senator from Florida.”
In 2015, Trump deemed that year’s ceremony, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, an “insult” to previous Oscars. He also got technical, criticizing even the ceremony’s graphics.
What ever happened to the good old days of The Academy Awards. This show is an insult to the past, just plain bad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 23, 2015
Worst graphics and stage backdrop ever at the Oscars. Show is terrible, really BORING!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 23, 2015
In 2014, Trump declared the awards ceremony “AWFUL” and compared it to the website for then-President Obama’s Affordable Care Act. Ellen DeGeneres hosted the Oscars that year, while “12 Years a Slave” won best picture and stars including Matthew McConaughey and Lupita Nyong’o took home top acting honors.
Was President Obama in charge of this years Academy Awards – they remind me of the ObamaCare website! #Oscars.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 3, 2014
I’m having a real hard time watching the Academy Awards (so far). The last song was terrible! Kim should sue her plastic surgeon! #Oscars
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 3, 2014
This cannot be the the Academy Awards #Oscars AWFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 3, 2014
He also declared the evening “amateur night,” criticized DeGeneres’ longtime producer and seemed to imply the awards show was “dishonest.”
Which is worse and which is more dishonest – the #Oscars or the Emmys?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 3, 2014
Little Andy Lassner, who lives his life through Ellen and has nothing else going for himself, is having a really bad night! #Oscars
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 3, 2014
Ellen is sadly having a hard time with her lines. #Oscars
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 3, 2014
That year the future commander-in-chief also retweeted supporters who appeared to indicate Trump’s no-holds-barred Oscar tweets would make him a good president.
“@CashMoneyBonas: @realDonaldTrump I wish I was watching your presidency campaign instead of the oscars”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 3, 2014
“@reza_rezvani: @realDonaldTrump You need to run for President. This country needs you. #Trump2016” zip. I know! #Oscars
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 3, 2014
Trump told his Twitter followers in 2013 that he was tweeting that year’s ceremony, hosted by Seth MacFarlane, due to “popular demand.”
By popular demand, I will be tweeting on the very tainted Academy Awards tonight!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 24, 2013
Despite writing in a 2012 tweet that McFarlane being named Oscar host was “something new that should be fun,” Trump called the ceremony “very average” the morning after.
…Overall, the Academy Awards were very average at best.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2013
In between his reviews of McFarlane, Trump called “Django Unchained,” a best picture nominee, the “most racist movie I have ever seen,” slammed the British accent of Daniel-Day Lewis, who won best actor for “Lincoln,” and deemed the Oscar set “very tacky.”
Trump was so angry about the Oscars in 2012, hosted by Billy Crystal, that he took to another form of social media, YouTube, to vent.
Trump, looking straight into a camera at his desk in Trump Tower, called for a security guard to be fired after Sacha Baron Cohen, dressed as his character in “The Dictator,” sprinkled what he claimed to be ashes on Ryan Seacrest during E’s Oscars red carpet coverage.
Trump also called the ceremony “boring,” said people were sleeping through it and used the occasion to take a dig at Vanity Fair, whose editor, Graydon Carter, has a long-running feud with Trump.
“Nobody enjoyed it. There was no good feeling and it was really like symblomatic [sic] of what happened to Vanity Fair,” Trump said. “…It used to be a wonderful magazine. Right now it’s boring, just like the party they had.”
I hear the worst, or at least most boring, Academy Awards party this year was the @VanityFair party. It’s lost (cont) http://t.co/u5SS2G0Q
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 27, 2012
Just one year earlier, in 2011, Trump and his wife attended the Oscars. The couple also attended the Vanity Fair Oscar party at the Sunset Tower Hotel, as seen in photographs taken at the time.
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