White House extends Christmas party invite to CNN off-camera teams

The White House extended an invite to its Christmas party to CNN’s off-camera teams on Thursday just days after the network announced it would not be attending this year due to continued attacks on the network by President Trump.

The invitation came from White House deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters on behalf of the president and was obtained and first reported by The Washington Post. 

“Good afternoon. The President wanted you to know that while the rest of CNN will not be attending the Christmas reception, if you’re able to he is still happy to have you – the cameramen, sound, and other technicians, who work so tirelessly behind the scenes – to come participate,” wrote Walters.

{mosads}

“You and your guest will be on the list at the entrance. Please note this invitation is nontransferable. Best, Lindsay.”

The Hill has reached out to CNN for comment. 

CNN announced on Tuesday its intention to boycott the annual celebration amid an ongoing war of words between the network and Trump, who often refers to CNN as “fake news.”

“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 invited guests,” a spokesperson for the network told The Hill.

“We will send a White House reporting team to the event and report on it if news warrants,” the spokesperson added in a statement.

The president responded on Twitter by recommending CNN should be boycotted.

“Great, and we should boycott Fake News CNN. Dealing with them is a total waste of time!” Trump wrote in retweeting White House’s press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s celebratory reaction to his 43.7 million followers.

Great, and we should boycott Fake News CNN. Dealing with them is a total waste of time! https://t.co/8zJ3j7g5el

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 29, 2017

Trump hasn’t appeared on the network since a phone interview with Anderson Cooper in August of 2016.