White House Correspondents Insider

Behind the scenes of the most powerful city in the world — Washington, D.C. — and those who cover it.

President Trump Again Lashes Out At Media On Twitter

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Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

On Tuesday night, President Donald Trump unleashed a flurry of tweets on his personal Twitter account lashing out at the mainstream media, calling them “fake news.”

Possibly originating from an undercover conservative sting video that captured a recording of a CNN health news producer criticizing his network’s political coverage of the Russian involvement in the 2016 election as “bull—t”, Trump accused the network of falling ratings.

Nielsen has reported CNN viewership has increased 10 percent year-over-year, according to ratings from the second quarter released on Tuesday.

President Trump continued tweeting on this topic to criticize other media outlets such as NBC, ABC, Washington Post and the New York Times.

The president concluded this topic on Twitter with another attack on the New York Times, again labeling the newspaper’s coverage of his administration “fake news.”

The New York Times reported total revenue of $399 million for the first quarter of 2017, up 5 percent from the same period in 2016. Its net income was about $13 million, compared with a net loss of roughly $14 million in the same period the year prior.

White House Publicly Criticizes CNN as “Fake News,” Promotes Undercover Video While Admitting Questionable Accuracy

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CNN Headquarters in Atlanta. Photo courtesy Pixabay.

White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders Tuesday criticized CNN during a press briefing by saying the network’s alleged “disregard for facts” was “coming directly from the top.”

She also encouraged Americans to watch an undercover sting video produced by conservative James O’Keefe of Project Veritas that showed a CNN health unit producer questioning his network’s coverage of President Trump and Russia, suggesting other important stories have been buried by the news network.

Sanders stated during the press briefing that CNN’s actions are “a disgrace to all of media, all of journalism.”

Turning to the conservative video she promoted during the press hearing, Sanders admitted its accuracy was questionable.

“There’s a video circulating now, whether it’s accurate or not I don’t know, but I would encourage everyone in this room and frankly, everyone across the country, to take a look at it,” she stated.

Commenting on the undercover video, a CNN source said that “It’s silly, it’s been spun up as something it’s not.  [The producer is] a health unit producer in Atlanta. He has nothing to do with Washington politics or the investigative unit.”

CNN viewership has increased 10 percent year-over-year, according to Nielsen ratings from the second quarter released on Tuesday. The network is running in third place in the battle for cable news viewers, behind Fox News and MSNBC, while still ranking in the top ten cable channels overall.

“CNN just posted it’s most-watched second quarter in history,” the network’s communications department tweeted Tuesday in response to criticism from President Trump.

White House Correspondents’ Association Not Satisfied with Off-Camera Briefings

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

Jeff Mason, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, has announced the organization is “not satisfied” with the halt of daily, televised and recorded White House press briefings.

The White House press team has frequently cancelled or modified daily briefings, such as hosting off-camera sessions, forbidding the use of audio from the briefings, or cancelling them all together on certain days.

“The WHCA’s position on this issue is clear: we believe strongly that Americans should be able to watch and listen to senior government officials face questions from an independent news media, in keeping with the principles of the First Amendment and the need for transparency at the highest levels of government,” Mason said in an email to members of the association.

Members of the White House staff have publicly suggested changes in the daily briefings, and have already changed several aspects from the traditional setting. Changes such as “Skype Seats” where reporters and talk show hosts from across the country are able to ask questions, have been included in some briefings.

Press secretary Sean Spicer defended the administration’s changes and potential alterations to the format of the briefings. “We’re going to do what we can to communicate our message,” Spicer said at Tuesday’s briefing when asked about the frequency of press briefings. “The briefing is one aspect of what we do.”

Correspondents Criticize White House Press Briefings

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James Brady Press Briefing Room, 2007. Photo courtesy Wikipedia.

White House correspondents Monday publicly blasted press secretary Sean Spicer and the administration’s communications team for increasingly conducting off-camera questions-and-answers instead of the standard publicly broadcast press briefings.

Spicer has not held a publicly broadcast White House press briefing in over a week, as Monday he told the press cameras and audio recordings were not permitted throughout the proceedings.

CNN’s Jim Acosta took to the airwaves to criticize this decision by the administration:

“The White House press secretary is getting to a point where he’s just kind of useless. If they’re getting to this point where he’s not going to answer questions or go on camera or have audio, why are we even having these briefings or gaggles in the first place?”

During the briefing, Zeke Miller of Time Magazine challenged Spicer to answer “why our friends in radio and television can’t use this [briefing] live.”
Spicer’s response was that President Trump had made public comments during a photo opportunity with Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela, and would again later in the day during a meeting at a technology council meeting.

There were no opportunities during either event for the media to ask President Trump any questions.

During the un-televised and un-recorded press briefing, press secretary Spicer also refused to take questions from CNN’s Acosta. The president and administration has pushed back frequently against stories critical of the administration on CNN, labeling the network as “fake news.”

“It’s off camera and you can’t answer questions?” Acosta yelled toward Spicer as the press secretary walked out of the briefing room.

“The Daily Show’s Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library” to Open This Friday

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Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

Comedy Central’s The Daily Show has announced the grand opening of the Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library with a grand opening this Friday in New York City.  The library will remain open to the public through the weekend.

Announced by host Trevor Noah in March, the library “will feature visual installations and a fully interactive experience for hands of all sizes, giving patrons the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to memorialize and celebrate the many “unprecedented” moments of President Trump’s Twitter history.”

Exhibits will include “Trump vs. Trump,” designed to “document President Trump’s unique ability to hold a variety of different opinions on the same subject.”  A video retrospective titled “Sad!” will “solemnly display a collection of people, places and things that the President has deemed ‘SAD!’”

According to The Daily Show,

“The library will be so tremendous that the public is going to get tired of the tremendousness.”

The library will be located within a two-minute walk of Trump Tower in New York City on West 57th Street.  It will be free and open to the public from 11AM to 7PM Friday, June 16 through Sunday, June 18.

Senate Sergeant at Arms Bans Interviews in Hallways, Decision Quickly Reversed

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Photo courtesy Pixabay.

Tuesday morning, the Senate Sergeant at Arms staff announced tough new restrictions on media interviews to the members of the Senate press gallery.

The announced ban including prohibiting on-camera interviews in hallways, outside Senate offices or committee rooms without permission from the Senate Rules Committee, the Sergeant at Arms or Senate Radio and TV Gallery, depending on the location of the interview. Also, reporters were told that a special press pen would be created in the Capitol basement, a popular location for the media to ask questions of Senators on their way to the Senate floor or lunch cafeteria.

Bloomberg TV chief Washington correspondent Kevin Cirilli confirmed these new restrictions, tweeting he was told he could not stand outside the Budget Committee office to interview lawmakers.

These new rules were quickly rescinded later in the day.

A Senate official said the Rules Committee had never ordered the Sergeant at Arms office to enforce tougher media restrictions and suggested the announcement was a miscommunication. “Everything you did before, you can still do,” said an official familiar with the discussion.

Senator Richard Shelby, Chairman of the Rules Committee, released a statement Tuesday saying they made “no changes to the existing rules governing press coverage on the Senate side of the Capitol complex.”

Trump Again Characterizes Mainstream Media as “Fake News” on Twitter

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Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

President Donald Trump reiterated one of his usual phrases on Twitter Tuesday morning, blasting the press again as “fake news” after articles were published critical of the administration.

“The Fake News Media has never been so wrong or so dirty. Purposely incorrect stories and phony sources to meet their agenda of hate. Sad!”

The president regularly refers to the media as “fake news” and accuses journalists of printing fabrications and promoting an agenda when stories negative of the administration are published.

This latest tweet was posted the morning before Attorney General Jeff Sessions is scheduled to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee. It has been suggested the Attorney General mislead or incorrectly testified before the Senate that he only met with Russian officials twice during the presidential campaign, where stories have inquired as to whether a third meeting at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. took place in April 2016.

Trump also tweeted this week about the DOW and NASDAQ, stating the “#FakeNews [mainstream media] doesn’t report the great economic news since Election Day.”

According to TrumpTwitterArchive.com, President Trump has branded the mainstream media as “fake news” on Twitter at least 52 times on his personal account so far this year.

Montana Rep-Elect Greg Gianforte Donates to Press Freedom Group

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Glacier National Park in Montana. Photo courtesy Pixabay.

Republican Representative-Elect Greg Gianforte, who won a special election to fill Montana’s at-large seat to the House of Representatives last month the day after after assaulting Guardian journalist Ben Jacobs, announced he has donated $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists as part of a civil settlement.

In a letter released Wednesday as part of the settlement, Gianforte states:

“My physical response to your legitimate question was unprofessional, unacceptable, and unlawful. As both a candidate for office and a public official, I should be held to a high standard in my interactions with the press and the public. My treatment of you did not meet that standard.”

The donation to CPJ, which promotes press freedom worldwide, was initiated “in the hope that perhaps some good can come of these events,” the letter continues. “I made a mistake and humbly ask for your forgiveness.”

The Congressman-elect still faces criminal charges over the assault. He could be fined up to $500 or face up to six months in jail if found guilty.

Jacobs has signed a release foregoing any civil claim against Gianforte in return for the apology and donation. The reporter has also requested that a crowdfunding campaign to replace his broken glasses also be donated to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Media Likely to be Excluded During Trump-Putin Meeting

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Photo courtesy Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons

President Donald Trump is likely to sit down with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the G20 summit in Germany this upcoming July, although no firm plans have been made so far according to a Kremlin spokesperson.

But according to Russian newspaper Izvestia, if that were to occur, the media would likely be excluded. There would likely be no photo opportunity, no press briefing, and no joint statement issued after the meeting.

“There will just be the meeting,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted in the newspaper.

Trump and Putin agreed during a phone call in May to try to meet face-to-face around the dates of the G20 summit in Hamburg.

Montana Republican Candidate for Congress Charged with Assault Against Journalist

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Glacier National Park in Montana. Photo courtesy Pixabay.

Law enforcement officials in Montana have charged Republican House candidate Greg Gianforte with misdemeanor assault after a physical altercation against The Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs Wednesday evening in the candidate’s Bozeman campaign headquarters. Gianforte is running in a special election to Congress, being held Thursday.

The assault was recorded on audio and witnessed by other journalists.

According to Jacobs, and corroborated by other journalists and the audio recording, Gianforte body-slammed him and broke his glasses as the reporter asked questions about health care reform and ObamaCare repeal plans. The candidate denies the charges.

Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin posted a release Wednesday night confirming Gianforte had been cited with misdemeanor assault.

“Following multiple interviews and an investigation by the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office it was determined there was probable cause to issue a citation to Greg Gianforte for misdemeanor assault,” the statement reads. “The nature of the injuries did not meet the statutory elements of felony assault.”

The campaign released a statement saying the reporter intruded on “a separate interview in a private office” and “aggressively shoved a recorder in Greg’s face.” Shane Scanlon, spokesman for the campaign, said

“Jacobs was asked to leave. After asking Jacobs to lower the recorder, Jacobs declined. Greg then attempted to grab the phone that was pushed in his face. Jacobs grabbed Greg’s write, and spun away from Greg, pushing them both to the ground.”

Eyewitnesses include three Fox News journalists, including reporter Alicia Acuna. She stated she and others “watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the man, as he moved on top the reporter and began yelling something to the effect of ‘I’m sick and tired of this!'”

Gianforte is running for a special election to Congress against Democrat Rob Quist to replace former Rep. Ryan Zinke, who was nominated by President Trump to be Secretary of the Interior.

Click here to listen to The Guardian reporter Jacobs’ audio recording.