President Trump abruptly cut off his coronavirus press briefing without taking any questions from the press shortly after a CNN reporter r...
President Trump abruptly cut off his coronavirus press briefing without taking any questions from the press shortly after a CNN reporter refused to move to the back of the room, according to a report.
Kaitlan Collins, CNN's White House Correspondent, said she was asked by White House officials to swap seats with another reporter several rows behind her, minutes before Trump's briefing on Friday afternoon.
Reporters' seats are assigned in advance through the White House Correspondents Association, and major TV networks, such as CNN, have front row seats.
Collins cited the WHCA guidelines and refused to switch seats with Washington Blade's Chris Johnson, who was sitting in the sixth row and who also refused to move. A White House official then suggested the Secret Service would get involved if they didn't swap seats, although no action was taken.
Moments later, Trump entered the room for the briefing but cut it short after 22 minutes, failing to take any questions from the press.
Over the weekend, Trump said he was canceling the White House press briefings because they weren't 'worth the time and effort' because the 'Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions.'
Kaitlan Collins, CNN's White House Correspondent, said she was asked by White House officials to swap seats with another reporter several rows back minutes before Trump's briefing on Friday afternoon
Moments later, Trump entered the room for the briefing but cut it short after 22 minutes, failing to take any questions from the press
Over the weekend, Trump said he was canceling the White House press briefings because they weren't 'worth the time and effort'. Pictured: Collins (circled) during Trump's Friday briefing
'What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately,' Trump said in the Saturday tweet. 'They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort!'
On Saturday, Trump tweeted: 'What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately. They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort!'
On Thursday, Trump had a spat with Collins as he addressed a question from another reporter about Kim Jong Un's health status, as reports circulated the North Korean dictator was near death.
When Collins tried to follow up with her own question, Trump cut her off, saying: 'No, that’s enough. The problem is, you don’t write the truth.'
Collins tried to interject, but Trump said: 'No, not CNN. I told you, CNN is fake news. Don’t talk to me.'
It seems Thursday's altercation played into Friday's incident when the White House tried to move Collins to the back of the room.
However, the White House does not control press seating.
It is handled by the WHCA and is seating is determined by the news outlet's size.
According to the Washington Post, the White House agreed to the current seating plan last month, after social distancing guidelines were enacted.
Jonathan Karl, the WHCA president, said in a statement: 'The WHCA has a committee that determines seating in keeping with our mission of ensuring maximum access and accountability on behalf of the American people.'
On Thursday, Trump had a spat with Collins as he addressed a question from another reporter about Kim Jong Un's health status (pictured), as reports circulated the North Korean dictator was in 'grave danger'
Collins confirmed the incident in a tweet on Friday, writing: 'Tonight the White House tried to have me, and only me, swap seats with another reporter several rows back. We both refused to move from our seats that were assigned well in advance. The briefing was short, the president took no questions and it proceeded as planned'
Collins cited the WHCA guidelines and refused to switch seats with Washington Blade's Chris Johnson (pictured), who was sitting in the sixth row and also refused to move. A White House official then suggested the Secret Service would get involved if they didn't swap seats, although no action was taken
CBS' Weijia Jiang, who had her own face-off with Trump last week, tweeted: 'The WHCA —not the White House—oversees the seating assignments in the briefing room. Collins was absolutely right to stay in her assigned seat.' She added: 'I was wrong not to mention Johnson too, for refusing to swap seats despite a White House official (wrongly) telling him the Secret Service was involved'
Collins confirmed the incident in a tweet on Friday, writing: 'Tonight the White House tried to have me, and only me, swap seats with another reporter several rows back. We both refused to move from our seats that were assigned well in advance. The briefing was short, the president took no questions and it proceeded as planned.'
Yahoo News reporter Hunter Walker added: 'White House staff just came into the briefing room and informed the print pooler that they want them to swap seats w CNN. That would move CNN to the back row from the front. WHCA made these seat assignments not staff.
'Pooler Chris Johnson said he would not move unless he heard from the WHCA. WH staffer threatened to have Secret Service enforce the swap. WHCA board members ran back into the press office to discuss.'
He added: 'I am not going to participate in a briefing if the White House moves reporters from their assigned seats.'
CBS' Weijia Jiang, who had her own face-off with Trump last week, tweeted: 'The WHCA —not the White House—oversees the seating assignments in the briefing room. Collins was absolutely right to stay in her assigned seat.'
She added: 'I was wrong not to mention Johnson too, for refusing to swap seats despite a White House official (wrongly) telling him the Secret Service was involved.'
Later on Friday evening, the Secret Service denied being involved in any way. Another official confirmed their lack of involvement.
'The Secret Service tells the WHCA they were not involved whatsoever in this effort by the WH to change seating assignments,' according to the WHCA president.
The quick exit marked the end of a terrible press day for the president, after digging an increasingly deep hole over his comments about treating coronavirus patients with powerful disinfectants during his briefing Thursday
A top scientific advisor, Dr. Debbie Birx, was absent from Friday's briefing – after Trump had directed comments about the bizarre treatments to her
Trump began his briefing as usual with praise for his and his administration's performance. 'The whole world is watching us,' Trump said. 'They're all watching us. They're all watching and they're calling and they respect what we're doing so much.'
He yielded to Pence and Stephen Hahn, the FDA Commissioner, before abruptly leaving the White House briefing room while ignoring shouted questions. Hahn, who took a single question earlier, was the only one at the podium to engage with a questioner.
The quick exit marked the end of a terrible press day for the president, after digging an increasingly deep hole over his comments about treating coronavirus patients with powerful disinfectants during his briefing Thursday.
He did speak earlier in the day, when he said he had been 'sarcastic' when he proposed treating coronavirus patients by injecting disinfectant. Trump said he was just pitching the idea to reporters to 'see what would happen' – but then admitted he also spoke to government experts about it and they were exploring it.
A top scientific advisor, Dr. Debbie Birx, was absent from Friday's briefing – after Trump had directed comments about the bizarre treatments to her.
Birx did appear on Fox News earlier Friday, where she explained about Trump: 'When he gets new information, he likes to talk that through out loud ... I think he just saw the information at the time immediately before the press conference and he was still digesting.'
On Saturday, Birx talked to Fox News Channel host Jesse Watters and was asked about the fairness of media coverage. She said she was concerned about some of the 'slicey and dicey' headlines she's read and said Sunday that she doesn't think President Trump 's musing about injecting disinfectant to treat the coronavirus should be in the news anymore.
On Saturday, Birx (right) talked to Fox News Channel host Jesse Watters and was asked about the fairness of media coverage. She said she was concerned about some of the 'slicey and dicey' headlines she's read and said Sunday that she doesn't think President Trump 's musing about injecting disinfectant to treat the coronavirus should be in the news anymore
But the corrected version, sent out before 8:00 a.m. Friday morning, correctly reflected that she said to the question: 'Not as a treatment'
In the first version, sent around 10:00 p.m. Thursday night, The White House claimed Birx said 'That is a treatment' when Trump asked about using heat and light
In the absence of his campaign rallies, the president has relished the opportunity to take the lead during the televised afternoon updates, which have stretched for as long as two hours as Trump boasts achievements against the outbreaks and applauds the high television rating the briefings receive.
The White House has expressed concern, however, that Trump's presence may be causing more harm than good as his approval ratings slide back down into the 40s and recent polls show him to have fallen behind presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in key states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Concerns for the impact of his presence grew after the president's dubious claims about injecting disinfectant into the body as a coronavirus cure on Thursday.
Even close aides were said to be shocked by the 'off-the-cuff' disinfectant remarks that they blame on an eagerness from the president to present positive news, according to NBC.
The off-script remarks that people with the virus could be cured by UV rays or disinfectants 'by injection inside' has been universally rejected by health experts and led to a PR nightmare for the White House as Trump attempted to roll-back the comments as 'sarcasm'.
He said he wasn't being serious when he asked his coronavirus task force coordinator and another official to look at the proposal, and claimed he was jousting with reporters – only to later say government scientists were already working on the idea.
'I was asking a question sarcastically to reporters like you just to see what would happen,' the president said – after his comments, delivered at length and no hint of a smile during his live televised press briefing, brought blowback.
Officials believe he may have misinterpreted scientific information discussed with him before Thursday's briefing about the use of disinfectant on surfaces.
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