(Headline USA) Washington, D.C., media elites are reportedly upset that President Joe Biden didn’t invite them to the traditional White House Christmas parties.
The administration typically holds special holiday events for the White House press corps, including one for TV teams, which will be held on Dec. 8 this year, and another for other members of the press, which will be on Dec. 13.
But this year, the White House snubbed several leading outlets, including Salon, CBS News and Fox News.
Some veteran reporters argued the “exclusion” was deliberate, since many of the outlets left off the invite list have been critical of the administration, which is to say they didn’t actively and aggressively push the Biden regime’s preferred narratives.
“How many acts of petty blacklisting does this White House have to commit against accredited members of the news media before a consensus forms that President Biden is neither a champion of a free press, as he so frequently claims, nor a man of decency, as his supporters claim on his behalf?” one veteran White House reporter told the New York Post.
Salon writer Brian Karem was one of the names left off the White House’s list, but he claimed it is “a great compliment that I am as apparently unliked in this administration as the last.”
Another veteran White House correspondent said Biden’s snubs aren’t just a matter of “civility.”
“It’s also about democracy, really,” the reporter complained. “Out of his mouth, Biden espouses that the free press is the bedrock of democracy and he supports a free and independent media and it’s important for us to make sure that governments are held accountable. But it only seems to apply for governments outside the United States.”
The White House regularly takes “punitive measures against journalists that are simply doing their job,” the correspondent continued. “It’s doublespeak and it’s pure hypocrisy, in my view.”
Another veteran reporter argued Biden’s “petty partisan holiday invites” is a “sign of weakness.”
The White House did not comment on the reporters’ complaints and would not reveal how its invite list was assembled.
“We’re thrilled that, for the first time in five years, reporters will be welcomed back to the White House over the holidays,” a statement deflected. “We have worked to be as inclusive as possible and expect to host hundreds of reporters from more than 150 outlets.”
