CNN’s Jake Tapper announced that the White House canceled an interview with John Bolton after Trump attacked CNN at his UK press conference.
Tapper tweeted:
Update: @AmbJohnBolton had been locked in for tomorrow’s @CNNSOTU. Then the president attacked CNN during his UK presser, and our WH correspondent tried to ask a question. We are told Amb. Bolton remains fully prepared to do the interview but the White House has canceled it.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) July 14, 2018
Here is Trump’s attack on CNN during his UK press conference:
The Trump administration only wants to talk to Fox News
The UK press conference was the perfect example of why Trump doesn’t hold press conferences. Trump can’t handle questions from legitimate media who aren’t going to cater to him and softball him. The White House’s move to cancel the Bolton interview is likely their first step in freezing out any non-Fox, non-conservative networks, and organizations. The Trump administration is the first in the modern history of the US presidency to only cater to their base supporters.
Trump isn’t interested in talking to other media outlets, because he doesn’t want to reach people who don’t already support him.
The tantrum against CNN is not a one-time thing. The White House has been cutting down reporter access since the beginning of the administration. The White House press briefings that used to happen daily have virtually vanished, as Trump has implemented a rule that on days when the American people see him on television, there is no need for a briefing. Of course, seeing Trump on television is not the same as the president and administration officials being held accountable by taking questions from reporters, but Trump seems to believe that no one cares as long as his face is on TV.
The interview cancelation on Jake Tapper is a red flag that Trump could be planning to limit who gets to question the president even more.
What Trump is doing is bad for press freedom, and even worse for democracy in the United States.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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