The notorious left-wing media propagandist Brian Stelter just cannot catch a break.
After being let go by CNN and recently complaining about how people still compare him to a baked potato, Stelter was recently denied press credentials to Trump campaign events.
Vanity Fair reports:
In recent weeks, the campaign has taken similar punitive measures against other reporters, according to multiple sources familiar with the moves. An Axios reporter had their credentials approved for an event and then revoked the same day, following the publication of a story about the Trump-led Republican National Committee’s struggles in swing states. (An Axios spokesperson declined to comment.) At least one other Post reporter was temporarily denied press credentials to multiple events after accurately reporting on Trump’s public statements. Most recently, Brian Stelter, a special correspondent for Vanity Fair, was denied press access to Trump’s rally in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania.
Reporters who’ve been iced out in recent weeks have not been banned outright from events; they can still go as a member of the public, but that requires getting to rallies much earlier, which could be a deal breaker for some journalists given their busy schedules. “It’s harder for people to accuse them of shutting out reporters because it’s pockets of people, and it’s typically temporary,” said one political reporter. And it’s not just events, they added. “If they’re pissed off about a story, they won’t talk to you for a week or two.” I spoke with a number of reporters for this story who declined to discuss the dynamic with the campaign out of a fear of losing access.
In a statement provided to the publication, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung pushed back against suggestions that the campaign were denying access to said events, urging them to apply for general admission tickets instead:
Nobody has been denied any access to our events. If reporters want to cover our events but are unable to secure a coveted press badge, they are more than welcome to apply for general admission tickets in order to experience our events. Throughout this campaign, we have been the most press-friendly and accessible [campaign] in modern history. We have flown reporters on Trump Force One, let them live stream from inside our motorcades, and given access that has never been granted during legal days. We don’t let petty differences get in the way of using the media to get our message out.
However, there have been certain reporters who have engaged in unethical conduct or breached basic journalistic standards of sharing privileged information to other campaigns and individuals… Unfortunately for those people, they can never be trusted again and will never be given the benefit of the doubt on this campaign or when we return to the White House.
Sadly for Stelter, it appears that he is one of them. He will either have to shell out the cost of a general admission ticket or risk missing out altogether.