The White House has excluded Andrew Feinberg, correspondent for The Independent, from the group of journalists set to accompany President Donald Trump on a trip to Iowa. The decision was made a day after the American leader harshly criticized the reporter for questions asked in the Oval Office, in a new episode of tensions between the Washington administration and the American press.
According to The Independent, Trump called Feinberg a “sick person” during Wednesday’s confrontation. The exclusion of the journalist from the press group traveling with the president has sparked reactions from professional journalist organizations, who see this as a possible form of retaliation for press activity, notes The Independent.
Jacqui Heinrich, the president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, strongly condemned the administration’s decision, which she described as a retaliatory measure.
The access of journalists to presidential travels represents an important component of the public information activity. Thus, the exclusion of a reporter following questions addressed to the president raises questions about the criteria used by the administration to determine who can participate in these travels.
The case of The Independent is the third such incident in recent weeks, in which a press organization has been excluded from traveling with Air Force One, the American presidential aircraft.
The conflict between the Trump administration and press organizations takes place in the context of legal disputes regarding journalists’ access to presidential events.
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