Trump Christmas

Fox News reports that president Trump has canceled the White House holiday party for the media. The president and first lady threw the party last year, though they opted to forego the picture-taking opportunities that have become a popular part of the celebration. The cancellation comes as the relationship between the White House and the media continues to unravel. The president has twice refused to attend the annual White House Correspondents Dinner, and the temporary revoking of CNN reporter Jim Acosta’s White House press credentials increased the level of animosity between Trump and the media. Fox News also noted that despite the axing of the media holiday party, other holiday-season events are going on as scheduled, with guest lists including “selected media people generally favorable to Trump, including a few Fox News hosts.”

Aztec Eagle

Jared Kushner received the Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest honor the Mexican government gives to foreigners, at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires last month. The award, which saluted Kushner’s “significant contributions in achieving the renegotiation of the new (trade) agreement between Mexico, the United States and Canada,” was presented shortly after the agreement was signed, and the day before Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took over the reins as Mexico’s president. Outgoing president Enrique Pena Nieto faced strong criticism for inviting Trump to Mexico during the 2016 presidential campaign. Not surprisingly, there was also criticism of his decision to honor Kushner. “The recognition of Kushner has succeeded in doing something we all thought impossible — THE UNION OF THIS COUNTRY against the contempt shown by this decision,” Javier Risco, a radio announcer, said on Twitter.

Jim Hightower

Jim Hightower ran afoul of distribution firm Creators Syndicate with his Nov. 27 column “Free the free press from Wall Street plunderers.” According to the Austin Chronicle, Creators editor Maxine Mulvey told a Hightower staffer that Creators could not run the column and risk retaliation from Gatehouse Media and Digital First Media, both mentioned in the column. Between them, the two companies own around 1,500 newspapers, many of which publish material from Creators. In his piece, Hightower excoriates them as part of “the new breed of fast-buck hucksters who’ve scooped up hundreds of America’s newspapers from the bargain bins of media sell-offs.” Creators managing editor Simone Slykhous told the Chronicle that “our decision not to run the column under the Creators Syndicate name is not personal. We would do the same thing for any of our writers and artists.”