Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) on Wednesday said the White House’s decision to ban a CNN reporter from a press event amounts to a “slap in the face to our democracy.”
“Wannabe tyrant Donald Trump is banning reporters he doesn’t like from official press events,” McGovern tweeted. “Journalists like [CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins] ask questions not just for their news outlet, but on behalf of all Americans.”
“Shutting them out is a slap in the face to our democracy,” he added.
Collins, who is one of CNN’s White House reporters, was acting as the “pool reporter” for all networks during President Trump’s meeting with European Union (EU) Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday.
During a photo-op with Trump and Juncker in the Oval Office, Collins asked the president questions about the big stories of the day, as pool reporters often do.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Bill Shine, the new White House deputy chief of staff for communications, later told Collins that she was barred from a Rose Garden press availability that day because she “shouted” and asked questions that were “inappropriate” for the venue, CNN reported.
CNN reported that Collins spoke at a normal volume.
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Sanders later confirmed that the White House banned Collins from the Rose Garden event.
“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,” Sanders said. “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.”
Sanders said the White House “support[s] a free press” but added that they expect “everyone be respectful of the presidency and guests at the White House.”
CNN and its competitor, the Trump-friendly Fox News, have both come out against the White House’s ban, claiming it is a violation of a free press.