Journalists rally around Washington Post reporter after Eric Trump criticizes email

Reporters threw support behind Washington Post reporter David Fahrenthold after President Trump’s son Eric blasted the journalist for providing his contact information and offering to take information from a Trump organization employee. 

Eric Trump tweeted “These are the tactics used by the @WashingtonPost. @JeffBezos – you should be very proud…” 

In Fahrenthold’s email, he writes “I’m very sorry to bother. I’m a reporter for the Washington Post, and I cover the Trump Organization as a business. As part of that, I try to make sure every Trump Org employee has my contact information. You know the company so much better than I ever could. I’d like your help to make sure I don’t miss something important.”

{mosads} “If you ever want to get in touch with me, I’d be glad to talk ‘on background,’ meaning I’d never use your name in any story, or tell anyone else that we spoke. All my contact information is below, including details for how to reach me on encrypted apps,” Fahrenthold continues.

These are the tactics used by the @WashingtonPost. @JeffBezos – you should be very proud… pic.twitter.com/9RO91n7XGX

— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) September 6, 2019

Reporters from across publications took to Twitter to defend the reporter, arguing that the email was professional and well within his rights as a journalist.  

“Wow. An extremely respectful and professional email,” Matt Fuller, a Congress reporter for HuffPost tweeted.

Wow. An extremely respectful and professional email. https://t.co/VCTt6odwus

— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) September 6, 2019

“Lol is this supposed to make Fahrenthold look bad? He looks like a total pro here,” The Daily Beast’s Lachlan Markay tweeted.

Lol is this supposed to make Fahrenthold look bad? He looks like a total pro here https://t.co/nsOOGAqvxe

— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) September 6, 2019

“You really nailed him here Eric…. A reporter asking for information!” reporter Sam Stein joked.

You really nailed him here Eric…. A reporter asking for information! https://t.co/kmmSUameDc

— Sam Stein (@samstein) September 6, 2019

Others also joked about how “polite” Fahrenthold’s email seemed. 

Those bastards send polite emails reaching out to potential sources. How dare they? https://t.co/INicW2SNbE

— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) September 6, 2019

This incredibly polite email from a reporter doing his job is a filthy dirty tactic!!11111 https://t.co/cETxvk3TQ1

— Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) September 6, 2019

oh my god a polite email what has the world come to https://t.co/sWVmkW9O9u

— Jessica Huseman (@JessicaHuseman) September 6, 2019

Others also pushed back on Trump’s suggestion that the email was a bad “tactic” from the Post.

New York Times reporter Astead Herndon said it was “quite nice of Eric Trump to show young journalists everywhere a model template for reaching out to sources.”

quite nice of Eric Trump to show young journalists everywhere a model template for reaching out to sources https://t.co/VguBQ4Spkq

— Steadman™ (@AsteadWesley) September 6, 2019

This email is:
– polite
– professional
– detailed (explains what “on background” means)
– grammatically correct and typo free
– a great template for reporters who want to develop sources https://t.co/tI10SZF13a

— Arit John (@aritbenie) September 6, 2019

Asking people if they want to talk to you is somehow underhanded now. https://t.co/oXJE8Mrvnm

— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) September 6, 2019