CNN drew a snarl from the Trump administration on Wednesday after their White House correspondent, Kaitlan Collins, was banned from Wednesday afternoon’s impromptu joint press conference given by President Trump and Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission.
Collins claims that she was disinvited from the event over questions she asked earlier about Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, which Trump ignored.
“They said ‘You are disinvited from the press availability in the Rose Garden today,’” Collins told CNN‘s Brian Stelter. “They said that the questions I asked were inappropriate for that venue. And they said I was shouting.”
Reporter @kaitlancollins says she was summoned by new @WhiteHouse communications director Bill Shine and @PressSec and told because of her pool spray questions she was being reprimanded and wouldn’t be permitted to attend the open press event. (This is apparently unprecedented.)
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) July 25, 2018
CNN responded with a statement:
“Just because the White House is uncomfortable with a question regarding the news of day doesn’t mean the question isn’t relevant and shouldn’t be asked, ”adding “This decision to bar a member of the press is retaliatory in nature and not indicative of an open and free press. We demand better.”
Statement regarding CNN press access at today’s White House event. We demand better. pic.twitter.com/s4lSTcHVak
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) July 25, 2018
A video clip of the exchange shows that Collins was speaking the same way journalists in the press pool usually speak.
Collins said she reacted by saying, “You’re banning me from an event because you didn’t like the questions I asked.”
Collins said Shine and Sanders asserted that “we’re not banning your network. Your photographers can still come. Your producers can still come. But you are not invited to the Rose Garden today.” –CNN
The White House shot back, claiming that Collins acted unprofessionally and said she wasn’t planning to attend anyway:
“At the conclusion of a press event in the Oval Office a reporter shouted questions and refused to leave despite repeatedly being asked to do so. Subsequently, our staff informed her she was not welcome to participate in the next event, but made clear that any other journalist from her network could attend. She said it didn’t matter to her because she hadn’t planned to be there anyway. To be clear, we support a free press and ask that everyone be respectful of the presidency and guests at the White House.”
While CNN is playing the indignant outrage card, perhaps they should bear in mind that their network’s Jim Acosta intentionally disrupted the historic signing ceremony between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Acosta was caught on hot mic during the event telling other reporters: “Hey, if they’re not going to let me in the f—ing meeting, that’s what happens. That’s the way it goes, baby,” the CNN reporter said based on the clip posted by Breitbart’s Josh Caplan.
CNN’s Jim Acosta caught on hot mic justifying shouting questions at Trump-Kim summit: “Hey if they’re not going to let me in the f*cking meeting, that’s what happens… That’s the way it goes, baby.” pic.twitter.com/e8drJAMUyf
— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) June 12, 2018
In January, Trump ordered Acosta “out” of the Oval Office after the Senior White House Correspondent peppered the president with charged questions about immigration, following an alleged comment made by Trump last week in which he is said to have referred to Haiti and several other impoverished nations as “shitholes.”
President Trump orders CNN’s Jim Acosta to get OUT of Oval Office after latest outburst. pic.twitter.com/n2mxIkBdEn
— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) January 16, 2018
In April the head of the Trump 2020 campaign, Brad Parscale, called for Acosta’s credentials to be revoked after he shouted a Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals question during the White House Easter Egg roll (via the Daily Caller‘s Benny Johnson).
Here’s Jim Acosta yelling at Trump about DACA while the president colors with Barron, Melania & children gathered at the White House pic.twitter.com/JCPsaREe8A
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) April 2, 2018
And in July, a former CNN producer called out Acosta for giving “all good journalists a bad name” after he heckled President Trump during remarks about the five journalists who lost their lives in the deadly newsroom attack in Annapolis, Maryland.
“This attack shocked the conscience of our nation and filled our hearts with grief. Journalists, like all Americans, should be free from the fear of being violently attacked while doing their job,” President Trump said.
This prompted CNN’s Jim Acosta to start heckling Trump – asking the President “Will you stop calling the press the enemy of the people?“
A man in front of Acosta is visibly annoyed, turning around several times to shush the CNN employee.
“Mr. President, will you stop calling the press the enemy of the people,” CNN Journalist Jim Acosta shouted at the end of Trump’s speech pic.twitter.com/FqWT5afwUV
— POLITICO (@politico) June 29, 2018
For that, former CNN digital producer Steve Krakauer took Acosta to task for drawing links between Trump’s criticism of the media and the shooting – even after it was known that the shooter had a long-standing grudge against the paper, had been reported to police at least twice, and that a restraining order against the suspect had been taken out against him by a journalist.
“Truly an embarrassment, on multiple levels. Jim Acosta’s self-serving antics give all good journalists a bad name,” tweeted Krakauer.
Truly an embarrassment, on multiple levels. Jim Acosta’s self-serving antics give all good journalists a bad name. https://t.co/TarlLVZ3RZ
— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) June 29, 2018
As John Nolte of Breitbart pointed out – Acosta was literally manufacturing fake news, as there’s no way Trump could have heard him.
Acosta is clearly too far away to be seen or heard by the president.
Nevertheless, although there is no way he will be heard, Acosta drops all pretense of professionalism to still holler a question to the president
In other words, Acosta knows Trump cannot hear him, but like a heckler out to spoil the moment for everyone else, he still screams his question at him.
…
Watch as Acosta turns around to look at his cameraman and appears to ask if they got the shot. Then the camera lights are shut off, which again reveals just how staged and artificial all of this is. –Breitbart
“This is not journalism,” concluded Nolte.
Given Acosta’s rich history with the Trump administration, perhaps the White House didn’t want to risk yet another ambush during a delicate moment in history by an employee of CNN.
Of course, ejecting reporters isn’t exclusive to the Trump administration:
Here’s former President Obama having a reporter removed for interrupting him “in his house” the press claps wildly, even starts chanting Obama’s name while the reporter is being removed for yelling “NO MORE DEPORTATIONS” #KaitlanCollins cc: @BretBaier pic.twitter.com/FuAuTEmG1Y
— Rosie Perpetually Potentially Sensitive (@almostjingo) July 26, 2018
2015 Washington Free Beacon’s Adam Kredo ejected from a State Department media briefing in Vienna and senior department officials threatened to call security on him, without him even saying a word. Had to control that #IranDeal narriative #KaitlanCollins https://t.co/1TP3XjjBPA pic.twitter.com/60Ie76VIU6
— Rosie Perpetually Potentially Sensitive (@almostjingo) July 26, 2018
2012 @politico called interrupting the President a “surprising breach of etiquette” and later the reporter from @DailyCaller was “urged” to and DID apologize to then President Obama #KaitlanCollins https://t.co/SHPGccrS4e pic.twitter.com/7ipaSNhwaz
— Rosie Perpetually Potentially Sensitive (@almostjingo) July 26, 2018
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