In an absolutely unprecedented move, Donald Trump tried to personally black list certain reporters from attending and covering White House events. The Washington Post is reporting that Trump has sought to personally ban reporters he felt asked too many tough questions of him and his administration, you know, those people "doing real journalism." He even inquired about revoking their press credentials - a shocking accusation, if true.
The two reporters that Trump targeted were April Ryan and Jim Acosta, two prominent journalists who never hold back on the tough questions - both to Trump directly and during Press Briefings with Sarah Goebbels.
Until this week, White House officials have not carried out his orders to ban certain journalists. That is until Wednesday, when Trump had Kaitlan Collins banned from covering an event in the Rose Garden after she asked Trump some tough questions during a photo op with the President of the European Commission. What did she ask that was so disrespectful? Questions about Michael Cohen and Vladamir Putin.
Sarah Goebbel's defended Trump, of course:
“President Trump is the most accessible president in modern history. He has done almost three times as many question-and-answer sessions with reporters as his predecessor, and we continue to provide access to the press in a number of venues and formats every day.”
The White House Correspondents’ Association put out this statement:
“In keeping with the spirit of the First Amendment, reporters who cover the White House should be free to do their jobs without the specter of reprisal from the government. The White House Correspondents’ Association will pursue its mission of advocacy on behalf of a free and independent news media’s ability to chronicle the American Presidency.”
Barring reporters and news outlets is not new to Trump, although it is the first time he has done it while actually in the White House. During his campaign he notoriously blacklists reporters from the Washington Post, Politico and Buzzfeed, to name a few.
Trump has a tendency to call any news coverage he doesn't like "fake news" but not all news is fake and just because the coverage is unflattering doesn't mean it isn't true. That's not how this works, Donald. And banning one reporter just means another one will take his or her place. You cannot stop the news. You cannot stop reporters from asking questions. You cannot only allow FOX and RT and The Gateway Pundit to cover you.
