White House reporters expressed outrage after White House staff moved their seats closer together on Friday, effectively ending social distancing for the coronavirus pandemic.
White House correspondent Jim Acosta shared photos of the chairs being spread apart during the media preset period for cameras at the press conference.
When reporters came out to the Rose Garden, it was obvious that the chairs had been moved.
“This is a flagrant violation of CDC guidelines on social distancing and a move that puts reporters at risk for the purpose of turning the press corps into a prop for a so-called ‘press conference’ where the president refuses to answer a single question,” ABC’s White House correspondent Jon Karl wrote on Twitter after the president’s press conference.
Karl currently serves as the president of the White House Correspondents’ Association.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere reportedly told reporters he made the decision to move the chairs because “it looks better.”
Reporters were also frustrated the president did not take questions.
When PBS reporter Yamiche Alcindor interrupted his signing ceremony by shouting out a question, Trump waved his hand to dismiss her.
“You are something,” he replied.