Georgia Entertainment Scene
Georgia Entertainment Scene

CNN skipping Trump's White House Christmas media party as guests

Donald Trump dominated CNN's airwaves in 2016. CREDIT: Getty Images
Donald Trump dominated CNN's airwaves in 2016. CREDIT: Getty Images
By
Nov 29, 2017

Posted Wednesday, November 29, 2017 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog

CNN told Politico today that it will only attend this year's White House Christmas media party to report on it, not as official guests.

“In light of the President's continued attacks on freedom of the press and CNN," a CNN spokeperson said, "we do not feel it is appropriate to celebrate with him as his invited guests. We will send a White House reporting team to the event and report on it if news warrants.”

The annual event, set for Friday at 2 p.m., has been seen as a way for journalists and their editors to meet more informally with White House staff in off-the-record conversations.

But Trump has clearly made his stance toward CNN known in various Tweets and speeches, frequently dubbing it as part of the "fake news" brigade. Just this past weekend, he specifically insulted CNN and CNNI on Twitter. A few months back, he shared a doctored old video of him beating on a wrestler but the wrestler's head had a CNN logo superimposed over it.

CNN recently created a new marketing slogan "Facts first" that seems to be directed at the Trump administration.

About the Author

Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.

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