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‘You’re a mean one’! Trump cancels White House Christmas party for the press, and the left can’t deal

December 13, 2018 | | Print Article

President Donald Trump responded to petulant journalists boycotting the annual White House holiday party for the media by cancelling the event entirely.

While the news may not be a surprise given the president’s often contentious relationship with the press that loves to hate him, the move was not an expected one or announced by the White House ahead of the cancellation, according to a Fox News report published Thursday.

The decades-old tradition of the holiday gathering brought members of broadcast outlets and print organizations together in what had grown to be quite a sizable event, at one point even requiring back-to-back parties to accommodate all the guests.

The much-anticipated soiree was held last year but the president and First Lady Melania Trump did not pose for pictures – a significant perk of past parties.  Instead, the Trumps made a brief appearance with the president making a few remarks welcoming the guests who included Washington reporters, anchors and commentators as well as the press covering the White House.

According to Fox News analyst and host of “MediaBuzz,” Howard Kurtz:

Journalists who attended the events, which featured a catered buffet of lamb chops, crab claws and elaborate desserts, got to roam the decorated mansion with a spouse or other family member, a friend or a colleague, adding to the invitation’s allure.

But the biggest fringe-benefit was the picture-taking sessions, in which the president and first lady would patiently pose with guests and briefly chat with them in front of a Christmas tree, with the White House sending out the photos — copies of which were invariably sent home to mom. This would take a couple of hours, with long lines snaking across the building’s first floor. Bill Clinton even posed for pictures with journalists days after he was impeached.

 

But some media outlets bent on making a statement, boycotted the event last year. Even before the decision came to light about the demise of this year’s party, some were already grandstanding, like vocal anti-Trumper, April Ryan.

The CNN contributor and White House Correspondent for American Urban Radio Network claimed she wasn’t planning to go, but she actually never received an invitation.

Plenty of liberal media types who claimed they didn’t care sure seemed to take the news of the cancellation hard:

https://twitter.com/ParkerMolloy/status/1073208740227239942

It will be a long day for you, Ms. Molloy from Media Matters.

CNN declared ‘Bah, humbug!’  last year as the network en masse decided to boycott the event as a protest against Trump. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders offered a sassy reaction to the news.

The president’s decision to cancel the traditional event came amid his choice to not attend the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner again. And it follows a year of especially strained relations with the press as the president frequently called out the “fake news” and the “enemy of the people” for not accurately and honestly portraying him and his administration.

Tensions escalated to a boiling point last month when the White House suspended CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta’s press pass after he refused to give up the microphone at a press conference.

However, the cancellation of the media’s holiday party did not mean there would not be other festivities as Kurtz noted “the White House is in the midst of a full panoply of other parties this holiday season,” which include guests more supportive of the president.

And Trump apparently has an open invitation to the unofficial White House Press Corps Christmas party being held Friday in the White House basement.

Many people seemed to support Trump’s decision to dole out some coal in Christmas stockings and took to Twitter with their reactions.

https://twitter.com/LIB__CRUSHER/status/1073256253902778373

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Frieda Powers
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