The White House sent out the invites for its annual holiday party, but some longtime attendees, and noted LGBTQ and Black figures connected to the White House, didn’t get an invite this year.
“I assumed it was an oversight, because I’m at the White House every day and contribute to the pool reports,” Chris Johnson, chief political and White House reporter for The Washington Blade, told Politico.
“I could interpret this as playing favorites,” he continued. “The lack of invite is very consistent with me being ignored by White House press secretary Sarah Sanders during the press briefings.”
Johnson also shared with The Independent that his lack of an invitation is “just kind of consistent with the policy of the administration to exclude LGBTQ people.”
Then there’s April Ryan, the White House correspondent and DC bureau chief for American Urban Radio Networks, who’s been invited to these holiday parties for the past 20 years and past three presidents.
But, I guess Trump didn’t want to join that list as he didn’t invite her this year.
“I have no clue and did not ask.” Ryan told The Washington Post when asked if her not being invited could have been a mistake. “I don’t think I was overlooked. I think they don’t like me. For whatever reason, they have disdain for me.”
But not all reporters took Trump and his continual attacks against them sitting down. In fact, CNN decided to disinvite itself from the party before even getting an invite.
“In light of the President’s continued attacks on freedom of the press and CNN, we do not feel it is appropriate to celebrate with him as his invited guests,” said a CNN spokesperson.
h/t: NewNowNext
Well done CNN, I hope all the
Well done CNN, I hope all the other correspondents disinvite themselves. Then it would just be Fox and Trump alone with an egg nog – very good time to them all.