By now, you know that Donald Trump’s much-hyped press conference announcing that he was no longer a birther was a massive swindle. What you may not know is he tried to pull another fast one just minutes later–but this attempt blew up in his face. When campaign staffers barred pool reporters from attending a tour of his posh new hotel in Washington, the networks pulled the plug on footage of the tour.
The press conference took place at Washington’s Old Post Office Building, which Trump recently renovated into the Trump International Hotel Washington. After the press conference, Trump was supposed to invite a pool of reporters to follow him on a tour of the hotel and provide coverage of the event for television stations and newspapers across the country.
However, when the designated television pool reporter, ABC News’ Candace Smith, tried to join the tour, she got a rather rude surprise. While cameras were allowed to follow Trump through his latest toy, no journalists could join. Smith revealed what happened on Twitter.
So the campaign allowed a still camera and video camera to go w/ Trump on hotel tour. Print poolers or your tv producer was not allowed.
— Candace Smith (@CandaceSmith_) September 16, 2016
So Trump is taking cameras ONLY on a hotel tour.There is no reporter with Trump as he gives "the press" a tour of his brand new hotel.
— Candace Smith (@CandaceSmith_) September 16, 2016
As the designated pool producer; attempted to go on pooled tour, as is customary. Was physically restrained from accompanying the camera.
— Candace Smith (@CandaceSmith_) September 16, 2016
Blocked is perhaps better term. Tried to go through the door, was gently pushed back as door was closed. https://t.co/Fhf2sFrMsR
— Candace Smith (@CandaceSmith_) September 16, 2016
But this is all irrelevant. The fact is Trump didn't allow the official pool to go with him, successfully avoiding answering any questions.
— Candace Smith (@CandaceSmith_) September 16, 2016
A number of other journalists corroborated Smith’s account. By keeping Smith from following the tour, the Trump campaign blatantly violated longstanding rules stating that pool journalists must follow any event that is pooled with cameras.
When word got out that Smith had been strongarmed out of accompanying the tour, the Washington bureau chiefs of the major over-the-air and cable networks convened an emergency teleconference. In a rare display of consensus, they voted to pull the plug on the pool camera and erase the footage. The television pool’s chairman, Bryan Boughton of Fox News, put it simply–the pool’s members traditionally don’t take part “in events that our reporters and producers aren’t allowed to attend.”
Even by Trump standards, this was a blindingly stupid move, considering that the press was already hopping mad at him for the way he handled this event. Trump was slated to speak at 11 a.m. Eastern. Instead, for 25 minutes, a number of pro-Trump veterans paraded in front of the podium to laud his leadership. When it became apparent what was happening, network after network cut away from the event, and anchors reamed Trump for turning the press conference into an event to promote himself and his hotel.
CNN was particularly outraged at what was happening. White House correspondent Jake Tapper accused Trump of pulling “a political rick-roll” on the media. Watch here.
After the announcement, chief national correspondent John King said that the only plausible conclusion he could draw from this event is that “we got played, again.” Watch here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvO75joSxA4
Well, it turns out that Trump tried to play the press again just minutes later. And this time, he got caught.
(featured image courtesy Gage Skidmore, available under a Creative Commons BY-SA license)
