The White House Christmas party is an annual event that plays host to various members of the media, but one cable network will be notably absent this year.
CNN said Tuesday it is boycotting the party as part of an ongoing feud with the Trump administration, Politico reports. A company spokesperson cited President Donald Trump's "continued attacks on freedom of the press" as the reason.
"CNN will not be attending this year's White House Christmas party," a CNN spokesperson said. "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 his invited guests. We will send a White House reporting team to the event and report on it if news warrants."
The Trump administration is not sad to see them back out, however, which press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders demonstrated in her tweet Tuesday night. She said not having CNN, which Trump has called "fake news," is like Christmas coming early.
Christmas comes early! Finally, good news from @CNN. https://t.co/3GeJysIol3
— Kayleigh McEnany 45 Archived (@PressSec45) November 29, 2017
The latest spat between the network and Trump came after the president tweeted that CNN International is a "major source of (fake) news" that presents the U.S. poorly to the rest of the world. CNN reporters and commentators have criticized Trump for his statement.