There is all kinds of drama going on over Christmas party invitations from the White House, especially from members of the media. It’s been noticed that Joe Biden, the president who claims to be all about the free press and preserving democracy, is just as petty as any other White House in its doling out of special invitations.
Any invitation to the White House would be a big deal, of course, but a Christmas party invitation is even more of a big deal, especially for members of the White House press corps. In recent administrations, say going back to the Obama administration, liberal White Houses leave out conservative media reporters, and during a conservative White House, liberal media is overlooked. This is a liberal White House so guess who’s not coming for eggnog and perhaps a photo with the president?
There are parties planned for Dec. 8 for TV teams and on Dec. 13 for other press. One interesting bit is that the New York Post didn’t receive an invitation, which may not be a shock since they were the outlet that broke the Hunter Biden laptop story. But, when the Post called to get a comment for its story on the Christmas parties, it received a last-minute invitation on Monday.
Journalists from a wide range of outlets came up short, including from Salon, Newsmax, and the Washington Examiner. It was reported by Politico that CBS and Fox producers and technicians were not on the guest list. They were left out of the TV press party, though it was expected that the CBS snub would be corrected. Some are beginning to speak out about Biden’s regular blacklisting of the press.
One veteran White House reporter told The Post, “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?”
Another veteran White House correspondent, who also spoke under the condition of anonymity, said their outlet was regularly invited to Christmas parties dating to at least the George W. Bush administration and that the snubs should be seen in a broader context after repeated press access issues under Biden.
“It’s not just civility. It’s also about democracy, really,” the reporter said.
“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 longtime reporter said.
The correspondent added, “This guest list is an example of how the White House is kind of taking punitive measures against journalists that are simply doing their job exactly as the president says, or claims, he supports and that’s what’s most infuriating. It’s doublespeak and it’s pure hypocrisy, in my view.”
Another veteran reporter said, “Engaging in petty partisan holiday invites is a sign of weakness, not strength … apparently this White House now has total disregard for protecting even the veneer of its promised transparency and respect for a truly free press.”
We know how protected Biden is from the press. His staff even gives him a list of reporters to call on when he does a (rare) press conference. He doesn’t call on conservative media outlets. Employees from some news outlets with opinion sections favorable to Democrats told The Post they were not invited. The majority of the slights went to outlets with conservative-leaning editorial boards, though. President Unity strikes again. Though, to be fair, I don’t think Sleepy Joe has any idea on who is and isn’t invited to the White House. Jill’s in charge and she really, really doesn’t like Republicans. There is a question if Joe will stand for hours and take photos with the guests as Obama did during his presidency.
The party season officially kicked off on Monday with the black-tie Holiday Ball for members of Congress, their partners, and their chiefs of staff. The Biden White House has a strict “no substitutions” policy so if someone’s spouse or partner can’t attend, there is no substituting with someone else as the plus 1. That sounds odd, even for Jill Biden. There are more than 20 White House receptions this month.
New Hampshire Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan skipped the White House Congressional gala on Monday in protest of Biden trying to change the primary season. Biden wants the DNC to change the first state in the primary cycle to be South Carolina, the first state he was able to win as a presidential primary candidate in 2020. Biden wants to protect his re-election bid. New Hampshire jealously guards its first-in-the-nation status.
So, it’s business as usual at the White House. Biden promised to be the most transparent and unifying president ever. It turns out that a lifelong politician with over 50 years in D.C. is the most swampy of swamp rats. For him to pretend otherwise was always nonsensical. He just thinks everyone else is stupid and gullible to his gaslighting.
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