Trump calls Baltimore native April Ryan a ‘loser,’ threatens to revoke press credentials
By BRITTANY BRITTO THE BALTIMORE SUN NOV 09, 2018 |
https://www.baltimoresun.com/features/baltimore-insider/bs-fe-april-ryan-trump-loser-20181109-story.html
President Donald J. Trump called White House correspondent and CNN political analyst April Ryan a “loser” and “nasty,” and hinted at possibly extending journalist Jim Acosta’s revokation of press credentials to “others.”
President Donald J. Trump on Friday called White House correspondent and CNN political analyst April Ryan a “loser” and “nasty,” and hinted that he is considering revoking press credentials of journalists.
Ryan, a Baltimore native, attempted to ask Trump a question about voter suppression at a news conference. Trump repeatedly told Ryan to sit down, adding that the media was hostile. He refused to respond to her question.
“I mean, you talk about somebody that’s a loser. She doesn’t know what the hell she’s doing,” Trump said of Ryan on Friday. “She gets publicity, and then she gets a pay raise. ... She’s very nasty, and she shouldn’t be. You’ve gotta treat the White House and the office of the presidency with respect.”
Ryan, who has worked as the White House bureau chief for American Urban Radio Networks for more than 20 years, said in an emailed statement to The Baltimore Sun that she is “numb.”
“It has been going on for two [years],” Ryan wrote. “But I am okay and continue my job with the support of both CNN and American Urban Radio Networks.”
Ryan also tweeted her love for the country and her respect for the office of the president Friday morning.
“I will continue to ask the questions that affect America, all of America,” she wrote.
Jim Acosta came to Ryan’s defense on Twitter.
“My friend AprilDRyan is an incredible journalist and a wonderful person,” Acosta stated. “If you got to know April as I know her, you would love her too.”
The National Association of Black Journalists released a statement Friday denouncing Trump’s treatment of journalists, especially female journalists of color.
“The most powerful man in the free world is verbally abusing journalists,” said NABJ President Sarah Glover in a written statement. “The past two years have been filled with assaults on the media and Donald Trump’s comments this week have reached an all-time low with attacks on three black female journalists. His dismissive comments toward journalists April Ryan, Abby Phillip and Yamiche Alcindor are appalling, irresponsible, and should be denounced.”
The organization, who named Ryan the Journalist of the Year in 2017 also demanded “an end to hostilities against the journalism community and to the continuous string of untruths and misinformation that have become staples of the Trump administration’s dialogue with the press. Trump’s dismissive personal and demeaning attacks on the press are a disgrace to the presidency. ”
NABJ Executive Director Drew Berry wrote in a statement that it’s acceptable to have opinions based on fact, “but when those differences are blatant lies or attacks, you cross the line.”
“A journalist’s job is to hold the powerful accountable through relevant questions about intent and actions,” he stated. “The expectation is for honest answers.”