Vice President Mike Pence[1] said Sunday the White House[2] defends the freedom of the press, responding to a backlash after President Trump[3]’s communications staff banned a CNN reporter from a press conference last week.
Kaitlan Collins, CNN’s White House[4] reporter, was banned Wednesday afternoon from covering a press conference in the Rose Garden, where the president announced his new trade agreements with the European Union.
The removal of Ms. Collins from the event came after she shouted questions at the president earlier Wednesday about his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, and a potential meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ms. Collins was acting as the pool reporter for the day, sharing her reports with other news outlets. Fox News announced it stood with CNN, saying the decision to keep Ms. Collins from covering the president’s press conference interfered with the press’s unfettered access.
The White House[5] called Ms. Collins’ questioning “inappropriate.”
“We stand for the freedom of the press in this White House[6],” Mr. Pence[7] told Fox News on Sunday, adding that maintaining decorum in the White House[8] is also an issue.
He said he’s confident the White House[9] staff and the press corps will be able to work out this issue in a positive way....
“This administration believes in the freedom of the press and President Trump[10] and I and our administration have provided extraordinary access to the media,” he said.