White House Christmas parties freeze out reporters — again

WASHINGTON — A large number of White House reporters have been snubbed from President Biden’s press corps Christmas parties for the second year in a row — prompting claims that journalists are being punished for their coverage.

Invitations to a pair of traditional media parties — one for TV teams to be held on Friday and another for print and radio reporters scheduled for Dec. 6 — went out approximately two weeks ago.

As of midday Monday, second-tier invites had not been delivered.

The exclusions impact a diverse group of outlets — including The Post, which has reported extensively on Biden’s links to his son and brother’s foreign business dealings, as well as reporters known for sharp questions who work for Democrat-supporting titles.

“If you’re hosting a reception for the press, invite the entire press corps or just call it a what it is, a private party for your friends,” said one snubbed longtime White House reporter, who works for a large liberal-leaning outlet.

The parties offer intimate interactions with the president and informal opportunities to schmooze with officials over champagne in the East Room, as well as lavish buffets of shellfish and desserts in the State Dining Room — a sort of soft access as the press corps struggles to get into hard-news events, which under Biden have featured a pre-screening initiative that continues to impact some outlets.

Biden aides said last year that some snubs were by mistake, citing incorrect email addresses or an outdated press list.

No such explanations were offered this year and a new press list was used — as at least two people not initially invited last year were invited this time around.

“They use it as bait for access,” said a second snubbed White House reporter, who also works for an outlet whose editorial alignment tilts left.

“It’s basically turned into a pay-to-play system,” griped a third, who said that their non-conservative outlet tangled with Biden aides over a recent report that the White House didn’t like.

“In order to get access, you must be willing to spend the money to report on the ‘stories’ the press office desires — including the first lady ‘fluff stories’ like Christmas decorations and state dinner menus,” said this scribe.

“If you go against the press team, not only are your reporters and news editors cut out of social events, but you’re also threatened with a lack of access in the future to high-profile members of the administration that speaking to is necessary in order to do your job. This includes not being called on in the daily press briefings.”

The journalist added that “earlier this year, our outlet was personally asked to retract a story the White House press office deemed unfair. Our refusal resulted in punitive action. Since that time, access to senior administration officials has been curtailed severely, not to mention a lack of party invitations.”

The reporter noted on May 3 of this year that Biden marked World Press Freedom Day by stating that he would “hold to account all those that seek to silence these voices essential to transparent and trustworthy governance.”

“Sadly, apparently that doesn’t include his own press office,” he added.

Journalists for outlets whose opinion content skews conservative were more than willing to acknowledge on the record that they were snubbed, including reporters for the Washington Examiner, Newsmax and Catholic channel EWTN, each of which has an assigned briefing room seat.

James Rosen of Newsmax, who has attended White House holiday parties since the 1990s, said the slights were unnecessary.

“The Clintons, Bushes, Obamas and Trumps all welcomed me at Christmastime as a member in good standing of the White House Correspondents’ Association and a reporter who covered them fairly. Only the Biden White House has exhibited such pettiness at the holidays,” Rosen said.

“The American people shouldn’t care whether a given reporter attends a given party, but they do like to see magnanimity in their presidents — and a certain toughness of skin. Maybe next year.”

Unaffiliated journalists, who make up a sizable component of the White House press corps, also were impacted, with Serbia-born self-publisher Ksenija Pavlovic saying that the “Biden press shop has failed American independent journalism.”

But Mark Knoller, a former CBS News reporter who is widely respected for his presidential record-keeping, said of the White House: “It’s their party, they can invite who they like and don’t like.”

At one holiday party, then-President George W. Bush “used the receiving line to complain to me about my count of his visits to his Texas ranch,” recalled Knoller, who started covering the White House during the Gerald Ford administration in the mid-1970s.

“I never found the parties of much value except to impress my guests who never got to see the White House,” Knoller recalled, “[and] in later years, I grew weary of the parties and stopped going.”

Presidents by tradition pose for photos with reporters and their plus-ones, who usually are either proud parents, children, family members or significant others.

Donald Trump didn’t host press parties after 2017 and the lapse continued through the COVID-19 pandemic until last year.

“I recall there were always some reporters who didn’t get invited and resented it,” added Knoller, who added that he believed the White House has habitually “found some reporters irritating and unworthy of an invite.”

“The Biden administration is certainly no different than the Trump administration when it comes to who they invite to their Christmas party,” the second journalist who spoke to The Post said. “They exclude people they don’t wanna mix with.”

It’s unclear exactly how many people attend the parties, though beat reporters have noticed that many journalists who are invited aren’t assigned to cover the White House and that other attendees are merely friends of West Wing officials.

A White House official said last-minute invites may ultimately go to some reporters — possibly as a result of initial invitees RSVP-ing “no.”

The Dec. 6 soiree for print and radio journalists is on a Wednesday night and conflicts with the fourth Republican presidential primary debate, which many journalists must cover. The TV party is, by contrast, on a Friday night and is expected to draw celebrity anchors and executives from New York.

“We look forward to welcoming hundreds of print, radio and TV journalists from outlets big and small — and their guests — to the White House holiday parties this year,” a White House official said.

“We do our best to accommodate as many people as possible, including the majority of reporters, producers, photographers and cameramen that cover the White House every day.

“Invites will continue to go out in the days ahead and we encourage people to reach out directly to our team if there are any questions.”