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Trump Threatens to Retaliate Against Reporters Who Don’t Show ‘Respect’ | Trump Threatens to Retaliate Against Reporters Who Don’t Show ‘Respect’ |
(35 minutes later) | |
President Trump said on Friday that he might revoke the credentials of additional White House reporters if they did not “treat the White House with respect,” lobbing another threat at the news media two days after his administration effectively blacklisted the CNN correspondent Jim Acosta. | |
Asked how long Mr. Acosta’s pass would be suspended, Mr. Trump replied: “As far as I’m concerned, I haven’t made that decision. But it could be others also.” | |
The president made his comments while speaking with reporters on the South Lawn before boarding Marine One. | The president made his comments while speaking with reporters on the South Lawn before boarding Marine One. |
“When you’re in the White House, this is a very sacred place for me, a very special place,” Mr. Trump said as he left Washington for a brief jaunt to Paris. “You have to treat the White House with respect. You have to treat the presidency with respect.” | “When you’re in the White House, this is a very sacred place for me, a very special place,” Mr. Trump said as he left Washington for a brief jaunt to Paris. “You have to treat the White House with respect. You have to treat the presidency with respect.” |
The removal of Mr. Acosta’s credential, after a tense news conference on Wednesday when the CNN correspondent aggressively questioned Mr. Trump, has raised alarms among press freedom groups that say the president is encroaching on journalists’ basic right to cover the government. | |
Aides to Mr. Trump said that he was most bothered by reporters who, in his view, spoke to him in a belligerent manner, and that his willingness to take questions — he did so for about 25 minutes on Friday — made him more open to scrutiny than past presidents. | |
But Mr. Trump’s retaliation against Mr. Acosta, buttressed by a false claim that the correspondent had handled a female White House intern roughly during the news conference on Wednesday, has little precedent in the modern White House. | But Mr. Trump’s retaliation against Mr. Acosta, buttressed by a false claim that the correspondent had handled a female White House intern roughly during the news conference on Wednesday, has little precedent in the modern White House. |
On Friday, the president lashed out at Mr. Acosta again, calling him “a very unprofessional guy.” He went on to insult other members of the White House press corps, including April D. Ryan, the correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks and one of a small number of African-American reporters who cover the administration. | On Friday, the president lashed out at Mr. Acosta again, calling him “a very unprofessional guy.” He went on to insult other members of the White House press corps, including April D. Ryan, the correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks and one of a small number of African-American reporters who cover the administration. |
“You talk about somebody that’s a loser; she doesn’t know what the hell she’s doing,” Mr. Trump said of Ms. Ryan, in an unprompted diatribe. “She gets publicity, and then she gets a pay raise or a contract with, I think, CNN. But she’s very nasty. And she shouldn’t be. She shouldn’t be. You’ve got to treat the White House and the office of the presidency with respect.” | |
Mr. Trump also laced into another African-American journalist, Abby Phillip of CNN, who asked the president if he wanted the new acting attorney general, Matthew G. Whitaker, to “rein in” the investigation being led by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III. | Mr. Trump also laced into another African-American journalist, Abby Phillip of CNN, who asked the president if he wanted the new acting attorney general, Matthew G. Whitaker, to “rein in” the investigation being led by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III. |
“What a stupid question that is,” the president replied to Ms. Phillip. “What a stupid question. But I watch you a lot — you ask a lot of stupid questions.” | “What a stupid question that is,” the president replied to Ms. Phillip. “What a stupid question. But I watch you a lot — you ask a lot of stupid questions.” |
In a statement, CNN said Ms. Phillip “did not ask a ‘stupid’ question today at the White House.” | |
“In fact, she asked the most pertinent question of the day,” the network added. | |
Mr. Trump, who relishes jousting with reporters, has offered tough words for journalists of all races and genders. In the past few days, though, he has insulted or replied harshly to several African-American women, including Ms. Ryan, Ms. Phillip and Yamiche Alcindor, a White House correspondent for PBS. | Mr. Trump, who relishes jousting with reporters, has offered tough words for journalists of all races and genders. In the past few days, though, he has insulted or replied harshly to several African-American women, including Ms. Ryan, Ms. Phillip and Yamiche Alcindor, a White House correspondent for PBS. |
At the Wednesday news conference, Mr. Trump repeatedly told Ms. Ryan to “sit down,” accusing her of interrupting a male reporter, as she tried to ask a question about voter suppression. When Ms. Alcindor asked Mr. Trump about Republicans and white nationalists, he called her query “a racist question.” | At the Wednesday news conference, Mr. Trump repeatedly told Ms. Ryan to “sit down,” accusing her of interrupting a male reporter, as she tried to ask a question about voter suppression. When Ms. Alcindor asked Mr. Trump about Republicans and white nationalists, he called her query “a racist question.” |
Ms. Ryan, speaking on CNN on Friday, said that the three presidents she covered before Mr. Trump “understood that reporters were part of the underpinning of this nation.” | Ms. Ryan, speaking on CNN on Friday, said that the three presidents she covered before Mr. Trump “understood that reporters were part of the underpinning of this nation.” |
“Sometimes we ask questions that they did not like, and maybe there would have been a bit of retaliation and fight-back,” Ms. Ryan added. “But at the end of the day it was part of the American process.” | “Sometimes we ask questions that they did not like, and maybe there would have been a bit of retaliation and fight-back,” Ms. Ryan added. “But at the end of the day it was part of the American process.” |
Olivier Knox, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, said on Thursday that his group had been lobbying privately for the administration to restore Mr. Acosta’s press pass. | Olivier Knox, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, said on Thursday that his group had been lobbying privately for the administration to restore Mr. Acosta’s press pass. |
“It’s a pretty basic principle that a president does not get to decide who covers them,” Mr. Knox told National Public Radio. “One of the things that I’ve heard from many colleagues nationally and internationally is, essentially, if they can do this today to Jim, they can do it tomorrow to somebody else.” | “It’s a pretty basic principle that a president does not get to decide who covers them,” Mr. Knox told National Public Radio. “One of the things that I’ve heard from many colleagues nationally and internationally is, essentially, if they can do this today to Jim, they can do it tomorrow to somebody else.” |
In traveling to Paris, Mr. Trump may escape the Washington press corps for a few days. But he will be reunited with Mr. Acosta, who is scheduled to cover the trip for CNN. | In traveling to Paris, Mr. Trump may escape the Washington press corps for a few days. But he will be reunited with Mr. Acosta, who is scheduled to cover the trip for CNN. |
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