WHCA dinner could be Trump’s chance to one-up the media. He should take it.

Opinions differ as to whether President Trump is wise to skip this year’s White House Correspondents Dinner — the first presidential no-show since Jimmy Carter (1978 and 1980) and Richard Nixon (1972 and 1974).

Trump’s obviously no fan of the Fourth Estate and vice versa. The thought of the warring factions trying to make light of their foibles borders on incredulous — like one of those Comedy Central celebrity roasts, only (a) no one likes the celebrity and (b) the insults are real, not in jest.

On the other hand, one likes to think that the president and the Washington press corps can be better, more adult versions of their current incarnations — for a couple of hours, at least, while a national television audience is watching.

{mosads}Trump isn’t the first Republican president with a disdain for donning a tux and wasting a Saturday night in the depths of the Washington Hilton. George W. Bush clearly would have preferred to stay back at the residence, but he showed up for the good of the cause.

Which is, by the way, the reason behind this annual Washington ritual: philanthropy.

Yes, the lion’s share of the attention goes to which celebrity made the pilgrimage east. A few journalists are singled out for their accomplishments. However, the evening’s raison d’etre is to raise money for aspiring journalists (each year, the White House Correspondents Association hands out about $100,000 year in scholarship money).

Trump says he’d ‘absolutely’ attend White House correspondents’ dinner — next year https://t.co/zddLwFx17A pic.twitter.com/LOqbrL4Y6V

— The Hill (@thehill) April 28, 2017

Which is why I’m surprised Trump whiffed on an opportunity that presidents rarely get — a chance to turn the tables on the Washington media establishment.

In RSVPing no for the event, Trump could have included a five- or six-digit check for the scholarship fund. Better yet, he could have had Ivanka trot it out in person, like Ed McMahon showing up on the doorstep with an oversized check from Publishers Clearing House.

Had Trump done so, it would have put the WHCA in an awkward position: whether to accept money from an individual with little regard for the institution it seeks to preserve.

Perhaps governing has dulled Trump’s competitive, watch-me-make-a fool-of-these-people streak. This is the candidate who once skipped a debate with his GOP rivals, only to hold a televised fundraiser for veterans’ charities on the same night (just how much money actually was distributed has long been a source of friction between the press and Trump’s world). Indeed, Trump’s decision to hold a rally in Pennsylvania the same night at the WHCS smacks of that campaign stunt.

Then again, it’s not just the president but also his staff that’s lost its edge. How else explain to explain why Sean Spicer didn’t have the clever sense to invite Rob Gronkowski to the podium when the New England Patriot photobombed a daily briefing last week?

“Weirdness” clouds White House correspondents’ dinner weekend: https://t.co/7KxWz98jfN pic.twitter.com/t2Wg5Spwq9

— The Hill (@thehill) April 26, 2017

In fairness to Trump, Saturday’s dinner looks dreadful. The WHCD’s host, Daily Show contributor Hasan Minhaj has likened the President to ISIS (“He’s self-financed, recruits through social media, attracts his followers with a radical ideology to take over the world, and is actively trying to promote a war between Islam and the West … Donald Trump is white ISIS. WISIS.”). That’s riotous.

Meanwhile, over at DAR Constitution Hall, TBS’s Samantha Bee will be hosting a “Not The White House Correspondents’ Dinner” for her television followers. If you haven’t see her “Full Frontal” show, it’s 30 minutes of the host standing in front of a green screen, ridiculing Trump. Unsparing, yes. And uninspired.

Perhaps Trump pulls a 180 — he’s been known to do that lately — and crashes the dinner. Schedules sometimes open up, just as war zones supposedly off limits to U.S. military involvement suddenly find themselves on the receiving end of a cruise-missile barrage. The more likely outcome: the president stays away; the two “dinners” are but more lead-footed Trump-bashing.

A big check to the White House Correspondents Association bearing Donald Trump’s signature wouldn’t have brought peace to the most hostile presidential media relations in modern times. But it might have shown that the new president understands what his predecessors learned to accept.

When it comes to the White House corps, hate the players, but at least pretend to love the game.

Bill Whalen is a research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, where he follows campaigns, elections and governance. Follow him on Twitter @hooverwhalen.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.