The White House Christmas Party Is Canceled—For the Press, At Least
Apparently, Donald Trump’s disdain for the media has a seasonal version, this time manifesting in a Grinch-like impulse to cancel Christmas. Fox News has reported that Trump has canceled this year’s press White House holiday party, a decades-old tradition at which there can often be found “a catered buffet of lamb chops, crab claws, and elaborate desserts.” Instead of serving one of his favorite organic materials—coal, anyone?—Trump has seemingly decided just to axe the event altogether.
The event in the past has reportedly been a time for White House staffers and members of the press to go off the record and have a brief respite from business-as-usual tensions—which have ramped up a million sleighs-worth during the Trump administration. It was only a few weeks ago that CNN’s Jim Acosta was banned for a time from the White House after an altercation at a press briefing in which an intern attempted to physically wrest a microphone from his hand (prompting one of the few times that the Trump campactually criticized a man’s behavior toward a woman).
The news, which the White House has yet to officially announce, comes the same week that First Lady Melania Trump (a self-styled Christmas queen, having recently starred in her second annual White House Christmas decorations ambient music video), in a sit-down with Sean Hannity, called journalists “opportunists” and “performers,” who she accused of “using my name or my family name to advance themselves.” (It might be worth reminding Mrs. Trump that when it comes to potentially reaping the benefits of a connection to the Trumps, she might begin with getting herself a green card as a young model via a program for so-called “Einstein visa” recipients or getting citizenship for her parents.)
Apparently, the biggest perk of the party has traditionally been a photo opportunity with POTUS and FLOTUS; though Trump held the party last year, he and the First Lady did not pose for photos, even though CNN boycotted the party. Fox News adds, however, that despite the cancellation, the administration is throwing a “full panoply of other parties this holiday season,” and that “selected media people generally favorable to Trump, including a few Fox News hosts, have made those guest lists.” Perhaps Individual-1isn’t in the most festive of moods?
