Its defenders say that it’s perfectly all right to have “just one night” to enjoy a break from the supposedly adversarial relationship between government and press. But that relationship isn’t always as arms-length as it should be in a town noted for its mutual back-scratching.

Talev and her cohort certainly are dedicated reporters and editors. But this festive night, always unseemly, is now downright counterproductive to good journalism’s goals. It only serves to reinforce the views of those who already hate the media elite.

By Sunday morning, Fox News chief national correspondent Ed Henry was even calling for the WHCA to apologize to Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who was in the audience as Wolf skewered her: “She burns facts, and then she uses that ash to create a perfect smoky eye. Maybe she’s born with it; maybe it’s lies. It’s probably lies.”

A mini-dustup, at most, but more bad optics for the mainstream press — which doesn’t need them.