President Donald Trump is reportedly excluding CNN from a Tuesday luncheon with network anchors in advance of his State of the Union address.
CNN anchors Anderson Cooper and Wolf Blitzer had attended last year’s lunch. However, they are not invited this year, the news network said.
Presidents traditionally invite anchors from all major networks to dine in advance of the State of the Union. Conversations during the lunch are considered off the record. However, the anchors are able to talk to the president before they oversee coverage of the speech.
CNN reported it is the first time in "recent memory that a president has singled out one network and opted not invite any anchors from there.”
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham did not respond to a request for comment, according to the news network.
Trump has regularly attacked CNN during his time in the White House and has refused all the network’s request for a sit down interview.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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