ABC News political reporter Jonathan Karl, head of the White House Correspondents Association, on Sunday’s “Reliable Sources” discussed President Donald Trump kicking reporters out of the briefing room after having numerous verbal dustups with reporters throughout his presidency, most recently with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins over seating at Friday’s White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing.
Karl said if Trump tries to kick a reporter out of the briefing room for “asking a tough question,” the White House Correspondents Association has the “bedrock principle” to “fight” back.
“We don’t walk out, our job is to cover these things,” Karl told host Brian Stelter.
“For as long as there have been seats in that briefing room, the White House Correspondents Association has had a say in who sits where,” he added. “And the reason for that is you don’t want a reporter, Kaitlan Collins, for instance, to worry if she asks a question that upsets the president that the president will retaliate by moving her to the back row or kicking her out of the briefing room. That is a bedrock principle. So we will fight for that. And, you know, it’s longstanding, and it’s been a practice that has worked.”
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