Latest news with #HouseCorrespondents'Dinner
Fox News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Biden aide intimidated reporter investigating former president's mental decline with 'tacit threat:' Book
Former President Joe Biden's deputy chief of staff allegedly used aggressive tactics with a reporter trying to cover his mental and physical decline, according to a new book. "Original Sin," by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, reported that "weeks" before the explosive Wall Street Journal story detailing concern about Biden's decline came out in June, Steve Ricchetti, former White House deputy chief of staff, strongly denied claims that the president was slipping to another journalist. "[A] reporter with a different national news outlet had been hearing from White House aides that behind the scenes the president was having serious and disturbing moments, forgetting names and facts, sometimes seeming seriously confused at meetings," the book read. "The reporter reached out to members of the White House press office, which not only aggressively—and angrily—disputed her reporting but also took the unusual step of having Steve Ricchetti call her," the book said. "He talked to her off the record, so she couldn't use any of what he said or even attribute it to 'a White House source.' But he told her that everything the others were saying was false, and that he was at the meetings as a counselor to the president." According to Tapper and Thompson, the Biden White House was going all out trying to control the perception of his health. "The message from the White House was clear, this reporter believed: If she went forward with the story from anonymous aides, the White House would aggressively dispute it, on the record, and portray her as a liar," the book reads. "The tacit threat worked." The White House also reportedly asked Democrats interviewed by the Wall Street Journal for the report on Biden's mental acuity to call the outlet back and push back on "false" accounts, with one congressman reportedly defending the president's sharpness, while admitting to a reporter he was told to call back. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and other members of the cabinet bashed the Wall Street Journal article, telling Fox News Digital, "The article was BS." "The president is utterly on his game," she added. "He is the wisest, most knowledgeable person in the room. He asks the toughest questions and has the keenest insights on the complex questions brought to him. He is sharp, thoughtful and wise." Other outlets felt the wrath of the Biden administration when trying to report the story that was obvious to the rest of the country. The Biden White House let the New York Times know it was "extremely upset" about its coverage of Biden's age, according to the paper's publisher, A.G. Sulzberger in February 2024. "I think the Biden team made it really hard to ask questions about his health — they shamed you, said you didn't like him, etc.," former CNN journalist Chris Cillizza admitted to Fox News Digital, noting that many reporters, including himself, "Let that be that." Thompson told the White House Correspondents' Dinner in April, "President Biden's decline and its cover-up by the people around him is a reminder that every White House, regardless of party, is capable of deception." Fox News Digital reached out to a spokesperson for Biden for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Amber Ruffin ‘Strongly Disagrees' That Trump's Done a Bad Job in First 100 Days: He Did ‘Everything He Has Set Out to Do'
Donald Trump has set a historic low for presidential approval ratings after his first 100 days in office, but 'Late Night' writer and almost-White House Correspondents' Dinner headliner Amber Ruffin would 'strongly disagree' with the idea that he's done a bad job. Ruffin stopped by 'The View' on Wednesday morning, and while there, host Joy Behar brought up the many polls indicating that Trump's approval rating continues to slip, asking for Ruffin's take on it. But the comedian's answer surprised the audience for just a moment. 'People are saying that Trump did a bad job 100 days in; I strongly disagree,' she said. 'This man has done everything he has set out to do,' she continued. 'I'm Black, I'm terrified. I'm scared for my trans friends, and people who we know and love, our neighbors, are disappeared. And that was the goal, and he did it. He did it! He did exactly what he wanted to do.' Expounding on her own personal experience, Ruffin admitted that she feels 'less welcome' where she lives that she did just a year ago. 'And that's the goal! That was the goal. This feeling in us is the point,' she said. When Behar wondered if Trump voters are now realizing that they're getting exactly what they voted for, Ruffin was indeed surprised that anyone would be surprised at Trump's action, considering he was open about his plans. 'What was the math there? Because if I'm talking trash about immigrants, and then I'm disappearing them, what did you think I was going to do?' she said. 'You know what I'm saying? Like, I'm terrified for our autistic family members, because didn't RFK Jr. say registry?!' 'Oh my gosh. So, look, I'm like everybody else, waking up in the middle of the night going 'The children!' And I don't have any!' she said with an incredulous laugh. 'The View' airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on ABC. The post Amber Ruffin 'Strongly Disagrees' That Trump's Done a Bad Job in First 100 Days: He Did 'Everything He Has Set Out to Do' appeared first on TheWrap.
New York Post
29-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Politico slaps reporter Ryan Lizza with cease-and-desist order after he criticized bosses over Trump coverage: report
Politico has reportedly fired off cease-and-desist letters and threats of legal action against former correspondent Ryan Lizza, who slammed the outlet's coverage of the Trump administration after his departure. Lizza last week launched his own Substack newsletter called Telos News, his first move since quitting Politico, which placed him on leave last year after news broke of a sexting scandal involving his then-fiancee Olivia Nuzzi and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 4 Former Politico correspondent Ryan Lizza with then-fiancee Olivia Nuzzi. Olivia Nuzzi / Facebook After Politico tapped someone else to lead their newsletter and moved Lizza to their magazine, he announced his departure and signed a non-disparagement clause – which Politico is arguing he broke by launching Telos, according to a report in Status, a newsletter by Oliver Darcy. Politico and Lizza did not immediately respond to The Post's requests for comment. In his Telos newsletter, Lizza has taken aim at traditional media outlets for bending the knee to President Trump and being too fearful to report harshly on the White House, alleging there has been a 'democratic backsliding in Washington.' He issued a broad attack on mainstream media, but mentioned Politico in particular – prompting the outlet to send him a cease-and-desist letter ordering him to remove the post, according to Status. 4 Political journalist Olivia Nuzzi and Ryan Lizza at the White House Correspondents' Dinner after party in 2023. Getty Images for CBS News Lizza then penned articles about Politico's attempts to censor him, and alleged that the company had killed a podcast he had recorded with Jonathan Rauch, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, comparing Trump's presidency to authoritarian rule, according to the report. More cease-and-desist letters followed, along with an alleged threat of legal action from Politico's top lawyer, according to Status. Lizza called the letter 'disturbing,' and Politico's attempt to muzzle him a 'scorched-earth campaign of censorship demands' brought on by 'some mild criticism about its editorial leadership's approach to covering Trump.' 4 Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was involved in a sexting scandal with Olivia Nuzzi. AP 'If they move forward with frivolous litigation, I assure you that Telos will defend itself vigorously and successfully,' Lizza told Darcy, adding that he does not currently have legal representation. He also challenged John Harris, Politico's editor-in-chief, and Mathias Dopfner, chief executive of parent company Axel Springer, to sit down with him live on Substack for a debate. 4 Ryan Lizza took aim at mainstream media, particularly Politico, in his newsletter. 'John and Mathias should admit that their campaign of censorship was a terrible mistake, retract their demands, and apologize,' Lizza told Darcy. It's unclear whether any legal action against Lizza is planned.
Fox News
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
DAVID MARCUS: Disband the White House Correspondents' Association
I began my journalism career at The Federalist, an outlet that was founded with only one official editorial position; ending the White House Correspondents' Dinner. I agreed with it at the time, but having grown since, I now see the error of my ways and am calling to disband the entire White House Correspondents' Association. On Saturday, April 26, in Washington, D.C., the WHCA held its annual dinner, once a time-honored tradition of the capital. Now it is a shell of itself that the president does not even attend, and an event for which the organization struggles to find a host who won't perform a seizure of hatred toward President Donald Trump. Of course, this year the entire farce was held under the cloud of the liberal news organizations that cover the presidency having failed to report that President Joe Biden, as commander in chief, was not only not in charge, but often barely awake. Look at what WCHA President Eugene Daniels actually said in his opening remarks, I had to read it twice to believe it: "I know this has been an extremely difficult year for all of you. It's been difficult for this association. We've been tested, attacked, but every single day our members get up, they run to the White House, plane, train, automobile with one mission, holding the powerful accountable." Holding the powerful accountable? Where was this H.L. Mencken attitude when Grandpa Joe was dithering away in the West Wing? Then there was journalist Alex Thompson, who mused the following, "President Biden's decline and its cover-up by the people around him is a reminder that every White House, regardless of party, is capable of deception. ... We, myself included, missed a lot of this story and some people trust us less because of it." This is the same Thompson hawking a book he wrote with CNN anchor Jake Tapper about the Biden administration. Jake Tapper! That guy not only ignored Biden's obvious infirmity, he chided as crackpots anyone who did point it out. Thomspson, like a sweet, summer child, doesn't get it, yet. It's not that many Americans trust the news media "less," it's that they don't trust us at all, about anything. Not everything in life comes with second chances. These people covering Biden flat out blew it, and did incredible harm to the nation and the profession of journalism in the process. Covering Biden's presidency for four years and not realizing or reporting that he was not all there is the journalism equivalent of an NFL team going winless all season. That's something that five teams, starting with the 1960 Dallas Cowboys, have suffered through in the post-war era, but none of them ever threw themselves a party to celebrate their abject failure. We all know what happened over the past four years. The liberal media decided that Biden's team, even if the old man was upstairs watching "Matlock" and complaining his soup wasn't hot enough, was better than electing Trump. With absolute shamelessness and disregard for the people, these charlatans with reporter's notebooks allowed their hatred of Donald Trump, and his supporters, to drive their coverage. Nobody should ever come back from that. If there is still a legitimate purpose to the WHCA, it surely would have been to stand up to the Biden administration, to demand more access and evidence. Instead, this gaggle of fools just nodded along like morons while former Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed actual, unedited videos were "cheap fakes," an Orwellian nonsense term, and that they shouldn't be shown. Traditions are good, they are important, and the WHCA, founded in 1914, has a rich tradition. But, traditions can also become mere trappings, a fancy symbolic set of clothes that bestows an appearance of honor on those who don it, deserved or not. Thankfully, the Trump White House has taken measures to rein in the WHCA's monopoly on West Wing coverage, bringing in centrist and conservative new media members, and of course, the "professionals," are having a fit. But while The New York Times and others might mock press room queries from figures like Natalie Winters of "War Room," or podcasters like Tim Pool, those people are already doing a thousand times better covering Trump than the gentle treatment the venerated WHCA gave Biden. It's always good to be wary of industries where their members heap endless praise on each other and constantly give themselves awards. Hollywood, for instance, and that is what much of journalism has become. "Look at me!" the establishment journalists all say, "I have an official WHCA membership card and a lanyard! So, obviously, I'm a brave warrior for the truth!" Not everything in life comes with second chances. These people covering Biden flat out blew it, and did incredible harm to the nation and the profession of journalism in the process. Nobody is buying it anymore. Look, if the WHCA wants to continue, fine, it could have fancy lunches and lecture series, maybe get matching sweaters made. But in no way, shape or form should this organization play the slightest role in how the White House actually deals with the media. Far better would be to put this dinosaur of the legacy media down. Journalists don't need a club. They simply need to tell the truth.
Extra.ie
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
It's a starry night for Caitríona Perry at DC Correspondents' Dinner
BBC News Anchor Caitríona Perry may be a high-flyer in Washington, but she hasn't forgotten her roots. She flew the flag for Ireland at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in the capital over the weekend. The former RTÉ News anchor, 44, sported one of Kerry man Don O'Neill's designs – a black sequinned dress dotted in silver stars – for the gala at The Hilton Hotel in DC. The Dubliner also shared snaps of her glamorous outfit on social media, writing 'Flying the Irish flag in a Don O'Neill gúna', alongside a green heart emoji. Caitríona Perry attends the DC Correspondents gala. Pic Instagram / Caitríona Perry She is no stranger to the White House, even becoming embroiled in a minor controversy when Donald Trump singled her out in the Oval Office during his first term as president. He was subjected to a massive backlash from the US media for complimenting her smile when she covered his phone call with then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar for RTÉ. The majority of the reaction was negative, with many saying it was true to Mr Trump's form to single out a woman. Reporting by Lauren Walsh
