President Donald Trump on Saturday told Akayla Gardner, a White House correspondent for MS Now, to “be quiet” during an exchange outside the White House. The interaction occurred as Gardner questioned the administration’s recent decision to remove CNN from the designated press pool for a presidential trip.
The exchange took place as the president was departing for a trip to Knoxville, Tennessee. According to video of the event posted by the White House on social media, Gardner asked, “Do you only want outlets that support you to be a part of the press pool?”
Trump responded, “No, no, no. I want real news, not fake news – like you.” As Trump continued speaking about CNN and MS Now, Gardner asked, “Do you not want tough questions?” The president then said, “Be quiet,” before continuing his remarks.
The exchange was not broadcast live by the television pool. The previous day, the White House had removed CNN, which was scheduled to serve in the rotating television pool role, from the press contingent traveling with the president. Real America’s Voice, another network, traveled with the president instead.
The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) has historically coordinated press pool assignments, which provide representative coverage of the president when a full press corps is not present. During Trump’s second term, the administration has managed the selection of which network provides daily pool television coverage.
This week’s events followed a period of conflict between the administration and several news organizations. Last week, the administration revoked the White House credentials for reporters from MS Now, Politico, and CNN. On Thursday, a federal judge issued an order that temporarily restored the credentials for those outlets.
Later that evening, reporters from MS Now and CNN were not permitted to cover a state dinner at the White House.
Following his trip to Tennessee for a college football game, Trump returned to Washington, D.C., on Saturday afternoon. He did not take questions from the print reporters who were part of the travel pool.
