President Trump weighed in on the brawl that broke out in the Rose Garden following a Thursday afternoon press conference attended by conservative influencers (who were there for the social media summit) and the establishment media.
According to a tweet posted Friday, the president is putting money on his former deputy assistant, Sebastian Gorka.
“@SebGorka Wins Big, No Contest!” he tweeted Friday.
The brawl, which was captured on video, broke out after Playboy reporter Brian Karem – who was seemingly perturbed by the presence of conservative influencers and media figures sitting in front of him at the press conference – remarked that the conservative figures were “a group of people who are eager for demonic possession,” triggering laughs from his media buddies. Gorka overheard the remark and called him out for his lack of objectivity as a “journalist.”
“And you’re a journalist, right,” Gorka said.
At that point, Karem shouted back, suggesting that the two should take the conversation “outside”– signifying things could get ugly physically.
“Hey– come on over here and talk to me brother,” Karem said. “We can go outside and have a long conversation.”
“You’re threatening me now in the White House – in the Rose Garden, threatening me in the Rose Garden,” Gorka said, approaching Karem.
“You’re a punk. You’re not a journalist. You’re a punk!” Gorka shouted.
“Go home. Go home. Hey Gorka– get a job!” Karem said as Gorka walked away.
“Hey– just for the record, he’d kick your punk ass,” Jim Hanson, who captured the moment, shouted to Karem.
The fight did not end there. James O’Keefe of Project Veritas tried to diffuse the situation.
“I’m on the same team as you. We’re both journalists. We’re both investigative reporters. All I ask is, do your job,” he said.
Joy Villa followed, urging the establishment media to refrain from reporting “fake news.” Karem was not having it and took issue with her self-description as a citizen journalist.
“When you have a staff of people that verify your facts, then you can call yourself a reporter,” he said in what seemed to be an attempt to puff up his status as a “real” journalist. “You have an opinion. Label yourself as an opinion.”
“You should label yourself as an opinion,” Villa shot back.
“I do. And when I write a feature it’s labeled ‘news,’” Karem claimed.
Interestingly, New York Times correspondent Katie Rogers’ video of the dust-up originally went viral, but her version failed to capture Karem inviting Gorka to take the heated conversation “outside.”
The full video shows that Gorka only got up after Karem provoked him with a threat.
Regardless, Gorka responded to the drama in a tweet posted afterward.
Nothing like getting a member of the FAKENEWS challenge you to a fight when you’re both standing in the Rose Garden of the @WhiteHouse,” he tweeted. “These people are not journalists. They’re punks and political saboteurs.”
He also acknowledged Trump’s support.
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