New York Post reporter goes on rant at White House press conference

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A New York Post reporter went on a rant after not being called on by White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

“I’m not calling on you today!” Ms Jean-Pierre told Steven Nelson as he attempted to ask a question on Wednesday.

“You should be ashamed of that,” Mr Nelson said. “That shows disrespect to a free and independent media and blacklist one of our country’s largest and most widely read newspapers, Karine. That shows contempt for a free and independent press.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Mr Nelson wrote on X: “The @NYPost is our country’s oldest daily newspaper. We have the 4th-largest print circulation and only the NY Times has more web traffic. @PressSec last called on me in May, and on a colleague in July. The May exchange was also about press freedom issues.”

Mr Nelson has reported that the May disagreement stemmed from the Post not being included in a White House event.

After Ms Jean-Pierre became the press secretary in May last year, she has also contended with constant interruptions by Simon Ateba, the owner of the Today News Africa blog, who received a warning for his behaviour.

Former Trump White House communications adviser Ben Williamson wrote on X: “Three years ago the called-on reporter would’ve given their question to the one skipped over. Evidently, that’s no longer the case.”