Can a mentalist trick Trump? Oz Pearlman will try in a room full of journalists

National Can a mentalist trick Trump? Oz Pearlman will try in a room full of journalists April 23, 202612:46 PM ET By  Rachel Treisman Mentalist Oz Pearlman performs on the set of Varney & Co. at Fox Business Network Studios on Wednesday. Pearlman will headline the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday. John Lamparski/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption John Lamparski/Getty Images The White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, a century-old night of mingling for politicians and political journalists, won't feature a roast by a comedian this year. Instead, bucking decades of tradition, Saturday's headliner is a mentalist: Oz Pearlman, whose mind-reading, PIN-guessing tricks have made him a favorite of social media, late-night shows, professional sports teams and corporate clientele. "As the world's most celebrated mentalist, Oz Pearlman will offer a fascinating glimpse into what's truly on the minds of Washington's newsmakers," association president Weijia Jiang, of CBS News, said in a February announcement teasing an "exciting, fresh, and interactive evening." Sponsor Message Culture White House Correspondents' dinner cancels comedian Amber Ruffin's appearance Pearlman, 43, has been a full-time entertainer for over two decades, but he's been doing magic for much longer. He started doing card, rope and coin tricks as a teenager, which helped him pay for college, and kept the side gig going even as he began working on Wall Street. His career got a major boost from his third-place finish on America's Got Talent in 2015. But he says he could have never imagined turning mentalism — a relatively niche genre of magic — into a full-time job, let alone booking the correspondents' dinner. In doing so, he follows in the footsteps of big-name entertainers like George Carlin, Chevy Chase, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien and Stephen Colbert. In fact, Pearlman told NPR over Zoom that when he first got the call, he thought it was a prank or a mistake. But he soon ca...