Image by heblo from Pixabay
The Society of Professional Journalists “strongly condemns President Donald Trump’s latest attacks on journalists, including his disparaging treatment of ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce during Monday’s (Nov. 17) Oval Office press availability, and his recent ‘Quiet, piggy’ insult aimed at Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey,” SPJ said in a Nov. 19 statement.
“These incidents are not isolated; they are part of an unmistakable pattern of hostility — often directed at women — that undermines the essential role of a free and independent press,” the statement said.
The statement went on to describe the exchange between the president and Bruce:
“During a press availability with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Bruce asked a direct and necessary question about the 2018 murder of Washington Post Columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Bruce asked, ‘Your Royal Highness, the U.S. intelligence concluded that you orchestrated the brutal murder of a journalist. 9/11 families are furious that you are here in the Oval Office. Why should Americans trust you? And the same to you, Mr. President.’ Rather than let the Crown Prince answer, the president cut in to belittle the question, dismiss Khashoggi as ‘not well liked,’ and chastise Bruce for ’embarrassing our guest.’”
“’Journalists are not props at a photo op — they are watchdogs for the public,’ said SPJ Executive Director Caroline Hendrie. ‘When reporters ask hard questions about the murder of a fellow journalist, that is not an embarrassment. What’s embarrassing is a leader trying to silence those questions.’”
“Nobody expects presidents to be reporters’ biggest fans,” Hendrie noted in the statement. “But targeting women reporters with humiliating insults should not be tolerated.”
SPJ: Phoenix, Arizona Chapter 