CNN Excluded From White House's Pre-State of the Union Lunch with News Anchors

Brian Stelter, CNN's chief media correspondent, reported that the network had been disinvited from the White House's annual pre-State of the Union lunch with news anchors.

The dinner is considered off the record, but "it gives the anchors a sense of the president's state of mind before they anchor" State of the Union coverage.

"CNN's Anderson Cooper and Wolf Blitzer attended last year's lunch. Blitzer has been attending these lunches longer than almost any other anchor — 20 years in a row," Stelter reported. "Journalists from other networks are still planning on attending, according to sources at those networks. This is the first time in recent memory that a president has singled out one network and opted not invite any anchors from there."

There is no question about the bad blood between President Trump and CNN, with Trump often clashing with their reporters or calling them "fake news" on Twitter. In turn, some at CNN have returned Trump's jabs with their own insults.