Express mixed feelings

News outlets split on whether to attend Trump's party

In the wake of CNN's decision to boycott the White House Christmas party, other journalists express mixed feelings.

By JASON SCHWARTZ and GENEVIEVE GLATSKY

In the wake of CNN’s decision to boycott the annual White House Christmas party for media, opinion on the event was split among other reporters: Some told POLITICO they would attend, while others expressed reservations over mingling with members of an administration that so consistently attacks the press.

So far, no major news outlets plan to join CNN in keeping their reporters and editors from attending, based on an informal survey by POLITICO. A Washington Post spokesperson said, “The Post staff invited by the White House are planning to attend.”

Several reporters who had been invited to the reception in the past told POLITICO that they had been excluded this year, raising questions about how the White House made its list and whether it was playing favorites and adding to the sense that the event has become fraught with politics.

But many reporters stressed that they wanted to attend in order to maintain a normal sense of decorum. Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent for The New York Times, said he was invited and plans to attend.

"It’s not our job to be bothered. It’s our job to do our job. Every president to a greater or lesser degree is unhappy with the coverage, and has an adversarial relationship of sorts with the people who cover him every day, so that goes with the territory. This one happens to be more vocal about it,” Baker said.

“Where I think we as reporters ought to be concerned is if that kind of sentiment is translated into tangible actions that restrict our ability to do our jobs.”

Another White House reporter, who asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said that he would attend, despite his concerns over the administration’s posture toward the press.

“I do get bothered [by the attacks on the press],” he said, “But I don’t view it as our role to engage in a fight with the president. I think that it’s our role to keep doing our jobs reporting the news and not treat it like we’re two warring institutions of American democracy. We don’t need to reciprocate that attitude.”

Olivia Nuzzi of New York magazine took a harder line. She said she was not invited but that if she had been, she would not attend.

“While I don't think it's improper to attend social events with the president per se,” she said in an email, “I personally am uncomfortable with the idea of being a guest in this White House for a party (if I would not be covering the party), given Donald Trump's stated threats to the First Amendment and general lack of understanding or interest in its importance. For that reason, my personal feelings are that it sends the wrong message to schmooze under mistletoe while our freedoms are under attack. That said, I don't judge colleagues who arrive at a different conclusion.”

POLITICO is letting its reporters make their own decisions whether to attend. Spokesman Brad Dayspring said “several reporters were invited and will choose to attend based on their schedules and availability, as is the case every year.”

Tuesday night, CNN told POLITICO it would be skipping the party altogether.

“CNN will not be attending this year's White House Christmas party,” a CNN spokesperson said. “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. We will send a White House reporting team to the event and report on it if news warrants.”

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders fired back Tuesday night on Twitter: “Christmas comes early! Finally, good news from @CNN.”

On Wednesday morning, Trump retweeted Sanders, commenting himself: “Great, and we should boycott Fake News CNN. Dealing with them is a total waste of time!”

Stephanie Grisham, the director of communications for Melania Trump and a special assistant to the president, said in an emailed response to POLITICO’s questions that the Trumps still anticipate welcoming the media to the White House, despite CNN’s boycott.

“The President and First Lady look forward to hosting members of the press and their families at the White House in the spirit of Christmas,” Grisham said. “We have received CNN’s statement and removed all of them from the attendance list.”

She added, “As with Christmas parties in past administrations, this is off the record. This is not meant to be a news event, rather, it is an opportunity for the media and their guests to enjoy a reception at the White House this Christmas season.”

Unlike in previous years, Grisham said, the president and first lady would not pose for photos with guests. Trump may give “brief welcoming remarks,” she said, and may or may not mingle with the crowd.

This party is not the first social disruption between Trump and the media — the president also skipped the White House Correspondents' Dinner in April. And even the time and date of the Christmas party seem to reflect the contentiousness of the relationship: In the past, the event was typically at night, with many reporters bringing a significant other or child to join them. This year, it’s scheduled for Friday afternoon, at a time that could easily interfere with deadlines.

“By doing it at 2 p.m.,” one White House correspondent observed, “you can’t bring your family.”

The timing of the party, said Grisham, was “based on many schedules,” including “the president’s, first lady’s, and White House tours.”

Just who was and who wasn’t invited to the party has produced its own set of questions. Under President Barack Obama, the White House’s traditional practice was to tell news outlets they had a certain number of slots available, and then let them choose who could go, according to Peter Velz, a former Obama press aide who helped organize the party the last two years. This year, the Trump administration has picked the invitees itself, leading many to wonder why they were left off.

“I assumed it was an oversight, because I’m at the White House every day and contribute to the pool reports,” said Chris Johnson, chief political and White House reporter for the Washington Blade, an LGBT news site. He said he was consistently invited under Obama, but when he reached out to Trump officials to ask why he was not this year, received no answer.

“I could interpret this as playing favorites,” Johnson said. “The lack of invite is very consistent with me being ignored by White House press secretary Sarah Sanders during the press briefings.”

Another reporter not invited was April Ryan, a CNN contributor and the White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks. Asked whether she knew why she was left off the invitation list, she said, “I have no clue and did not ask.” She told The Washington Post on Tuesday, though, “I don’t think I was overlooked. I think they don’t like me. For whatever reason, they have disdain for me.”

Grisham declined to explain how the invite list was formed. “It is the policy of the social office that we not give out guest details for any of our events,” she said.

She did not respond to specific questions about Johnson and Ryan.

Some have speculated that the White House invited only White House correspondents with so-called hard passes granting them access to the building. Grisham, said, though, that the list was “a collaborative effort between East and West Wing press shops,” referring to the media spokespeople for both the president and first lady.

Baker, from the Times, said that, in the past, people from the paper beyond reporters on the beat were able to go, but this year, invites were cut down to just those covering the White House. "My impression is they pared back the list, which from time to time is done by different administrations,” he said.

According to Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha, the Times newsroom received fewer invitations than it had under the previous administration, though the number was “consistent with previous administrations prior to Obama.”

Overall, fewer people do seem to have been invited this year. The Obama administration hosted two holiday parties each year — one for print and radio and another for TV — but this year there will be only a single party.

Grisham said the number of invites was “on par for the first year of previous administrations.”

Velz, the former Obama press aide, said that to his knowledge, the Obama administration left it up to the news outlets to make their lists to avoid perceptions of favoritism.

“We viewed it as a fairness thing,” he said. “We didn’t want to pick our favorites. We tried to be inclusive by having such a large number of slots.”

“If the process is very opaque,” he added, “then everybody could point to themselves to say, why did this outlet come before me?”