I understand that this reporter is “reportedly” a biased reporter, that aside, looking at the picture balancing the microphone at the end of the boom can present problems—so for her hitting the president, I will call that accidental. As for her bias, that is another matter altogether.
She was/is an incompetent audio technician who apparently doubles as a biased NPR party line reporter. I find it hard to believe NPR is not union and that the union allows a reporter to work “out of class” as an audio technician. Notice that no other audio tech on site was standing that far away while attempting to use a mic boom one handed. Bad form. Probably does not have the requisite upper arm or body strength to do the job properly. Perhaps a DEI hire.