White House Correspondents Insider

Behind the scenes of one of the most powerful clubs in America.

Archives for August 2017

Fox News Host Receives Death Threats After Segment Criticizing Trump

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Fox News building on 6th Avenue in NYC. Photo courtesy Jim Henderson via Wikimedia Commons.

Fox News host Eboni K. Williams berated President Donald Trump in her Monday “Eboni’s Docket” segment, blasting him for failing to call out white supremacist groups when condemning violence over the weekend in Charlottesville.  In an interview with Variety, she said her email was flooded with “seething, scathing” take-downs in response.

Some of the comments she received included statements that she “should meet [her] maker soon,” and that she “shouldn’t be allowed to walk the streets of New York.”

“When you don’t speak out and condemn, that’s tacit compliance in my book,” Williams said. “So whether President Trump approves of it actually, or actually wants it, I think is irrelevant because what we know is that these people think they are acting on behalf of the President of the United States.”

Many have criticized Williams for not addressing counter-protests that occurred in Charlottesville during her segment.  “I don’t think they were at fault because they didn’t drive a car into a crowd of people and kill Heather Heyer,” she replied. “That was one individual that self-identified as a white nationalist and Nazi. To even have an analysis beyond that is irresponsible.”

Williams has received extra security from Fox News, and is currently escorted to and from the network building when she arrives and leaves work.

White House Correspondents Association Receives Press Freedom Award

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Photo courtesy AFS-USA Intercultural Programs.

The White House Correspondents Association will be honored by the National Press Club and its nonprofit Journalism Institute with its John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award.

Named after the late president of the National Press Club and a renown journalist dedicated to press freedom, this award is presented annually to two recipients — one domestic and one foreign — at the annual Fourth Estate Gala, to be held in October.  The recipients are recognized for “demonstrating through their work the principles of press freedom and open government.”

In announcing the decision, the National Press Club said that

“While there are a number of worthy potential recipients this year, the Club and Journalism Institute chose the White House Correspondents’ Association for its tireless — and often thankless — efforts to maintain lines of communication with the leaders of our government and stand up for public access, all while enduring insults, public ridicule and not-so-veiled threats.”

The Club also noted that “the toxic environment for reporters in Washington is making it more difficult for journalists at a state and local level to keep the public informed.”

The press corps of Mexico is this year’s foreign recipient of the Press Freedom Award.

Fox News Could Not Find Any Republican to Defend Trump On-Air Regarding Charlottesville Statement

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Fox News building on 6th Avenue in NYC. Photo courtesy Jim Henderson via Wikimedia Commons.

On Wednesday, Fox News host Shephard Smith announced on-air that his network failed to find a Republican willing to defend President Donald Trump and his comments on the violence in Charlottesville last weekend.

“Our booking team — and they’re good — reached out to Republicans of all stripes across the country today,” Smith said during his broadcast. “Let’s be honest, Republicans often don’t really mind coming on Fox News Channel. We couldn’t get anyone to come and defend him here. Because we thought, in balance, someone should do that. We worked very hard at it throughout the day, and we were unsuccessful,” he continued.

Following violence at a white supremacist rally on Saturday in Charlottesville that resulted in the death of 32-year old Heather Heyer and injured nearly 20 other counter-protesters, President Donald Trump said “both sides” were to blame, while also claiming there were some “very fine people” in attendance of the white nationalist rally.

“And,” Smith continued, “of those that are condemning the president’s condemnable actions, I’ve not heard any prominent leaders, former presidents, members of the House or the Senate use his name while speaking in generalities,” Smith said.

UPDATE:  Other networks have announced similar problems.

Chuck Todd, NBC:  “We invited every single Republican senator on this program tonight, all 52.”  Plus a dozen House Republicans.  “None of them agreed to discuss this issue with us today.”

Wolf Blitzer, CNN: “We did reach out to Republican leaders throughout the day.  They all, at least for now, refused to join us.”

Trump Campaign Accuses CNN of Censorship

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Photo courtesy Josh Hallett.

President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign has accused CNN of censorship, saying the network has blocked its most recent ad, “The President’s Enemies.”  The network has stated it has not rejected the ad.

The ad itself blasts Democrats and the media, implying they are “the president’s enemies.”  Several clips of journalists are displayed during the ad, including many who work at CNN including Don Lemon, Anderson Cooper, Dana Bash, Brian Stetler and John King.  Other journalists featured in the ad include American Urban Radio’s April Ryan and MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, Rachel Maddow and Chuck Todd.

“Today, CNN provided further proof that the network earns this mistrust every day by censoring President Trump’s message to the American people by blocking our paid campaign ad,” campaign executive director Michael Glassner said in a statement. “Clearly, the only viewpoint CNN allows on the air is CNN’s.”

The network said it did not reject the ad, but requested changes to make it factually correct.  CNN also pointed out it makes this request routinely with all ads they run.  According to the network, the request for changes was sent to the campaign, which asked for the request in writing.  It then issued a press release blasting the network before CNN could send over the changes.

According to CNN, they “would accept the ad if the images of reporters and anchors are removed. Anchors and reporters don’t have ‘enemies,’ as the ad states, but they do hold those in power accountable across the political spectrum and aggressively challenge false and misleading statements and investigate wrong-doing.”

The network has aired at least five pro-Trump advocacy ads since February.  It had rejected one ad in May on the grounds that it contained a graphic calling mainstream media “fake news.”

Presidential Aide Hope Hicks Takes On Expanded Communications Role in White House

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James S. Brady Press Briefing Room. Photo courtesy White House.

White House director of strategic communications Hope Hicks is stepping into an expanded role with new responsibilities as the administration searches for its third communications director since January.

Hicks will take on the duties normally assigned to the communications director on an unofficial and temporarily basis.  She will also work with White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on finding a permanent replacement for the communications director role in the administration.

She is one of President Donald Trump’s most trusted aides, having served as press secretary of his presidential campaign in 2015.  Hicks also has close ties to Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, a senior White House adviser.

The communications director role has been vacant since Anthony Scaramucci was fired by newly-appointed White House chief of staff John Kelly only 10 days after joining the administration.  Prior to that, Mike Dubke served in that role for 88 days, with a friend saying he was frustrated with the disorganization within the executive branch.

Trump Tweets, Deletes Cartoon of Train Driving Into CNN Reporter

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Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

President Donald Trump retweeted a cartoon image Tuesday morning showing a train running into a person appearing to represent the cable news network CNN. He soon after deleted his post.

The meme carried the headline: “Fake news can’t stop the Trump train” and pictured a train with Trump’s name on both the front and side hitting a person with a CNN logo covering his face.

Over the weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia, a man attending the “Unite the Right” rally supporting neo-Nazis and white supremacists drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters demonstrating peacefully. One woman named Heather Heyer was killed and nearly 20 others injured.

CNN Fires Pro-Trump Commentator Jeffrey Lord Over Nazi Salute Tweet

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Photo courtesy Josh Hallett.

CNN has severed ties with provocative commentator Jeffrey Lord following his tweeting “Seig Heil!” at Angelo Carusone, a prominent liberal activist and president of Media Matters.

“Nazi salutes are indefensible,” CNN said in a release. “Jeffrey Lord is no longer with the network.”

Lord disagreed with the decision, but expressed his respect for CNN and its management. “I love CNN, but I feel they are caving to bullies here,” he said in a telephone interview after the decision was announced.

“You’re not supposed to make fun of Nazis? I don’t think so,” Lord said. “I do not ever intend to be quiet. If I had to do it all over again, I would.”

The personality had served as a staff member in the Reagan administration. He was the first explicitly pro-Trump commentator on the network, joining in August 2015. Lord’s addition to CNN’s roster was viewed as a counterweight to other commentators, who were virtually unanimous in dismissing Trump’s candidacy.

Following his firing, Lord received a phone call from White House chief strategist Steve Bannon. In the call, Bannon told Lord to “keep fighting.”

Boston Mayor’s Top Aide Daniel Koh Running for Open Congressional Seat?

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Photo courtesy City of Boston.

Following Representative Niki Tsongas’ announcement that she is retiring at the end of her term, several public figures have been mentioned as potential replacements for the Boston-area seat.

Many insiders mention Daniel Koh, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh’s chief of staff, as a likely candidate in the upcoming Democratic primary.  The Andover native and Harvard alum has long been suspected of eyeing a congressional run.

The 32-year-old recently commented on his plans to run for federal office:  “I’d be disingenuous if I said I never thought about it.”

Mayor Walsh explained he and Koh have grown close as a team during his term for the better.  “We’ve really learned off each other.  I’m certainly more analytical now… [Koh] has picked up a lot of my passion for politics.”

Real victories in the political arena, according to Koh, are assisting constituents.  He says helping a Roxbury senior citizen fix a ramp was his most gratifying accomplishment of his career.  Koh has also played a critical hand in streamlining city permits, overhauling the Cabinet structure, and helping close the deal on General Electric’s recent decision to relocate to Boston.

Asked to comment on Koh and the open congressional seat, City Hall spokeswoman Laura Oggeri declined to comment.

Huckabee Sanders: Televised White House Briefings to Remain ‘For Now’

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Photo courtesy Pixabay.

Last week, new White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders gave tepid support to returning to the tradition that White House press briefings would likely remain on-camera, potentially defusing an issue of contention with the press corps.

“Yeah, I think for now,” she said in an interview with The New York Times. “We’ll see what happens.”

Sanders was promoted to press secretary after her predecessor, Sean Spicer, resigned following the announcement that Anthony Scaramucci would be appointed White House communications director. Less than two weeks later, Scaramucci was fired by incoming chief of staff John Kelly.

She also recently took over the White House press secretary’s Twitter handle from Spicer, which has been handed down to staffers in that role since the Obama administration.

NPR’s Geoff Bennett Moves to White House Beat

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Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

National Public Radio has added a fourth reporter to its White House beat.  Geoff Bennett will be transferring down Pennsylvania Avenue, leaving his current role as a congressional reporter for the network since March.

Senior NPR Washington editor Beth Donovan said that “[j]ust a few months into his return to NPR, Geoff has demonstrated the substantive reach, solid sourcing, and fluidity in stories and two ways demanded daily on the beat.  And, as those of us lucky enough to work alongside Geoff know, he’s done it with the grace and good humor we so need.”

Before returning to NPR on the congressional beat, Bennett had worked as Washington correspondent for NY1 News.  Prior to that, he served as editor of NPR’s Weekend Edition.

NPR’s White House team also includes national political correspondent Mara Liasson and correspondents Scott Horsley and Tamara Keith.