A White House press briefing turned chaotic on Monday when Today News Africa Chief White House Correspondent Simon Ateba accused Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre of “making a mockery of the First Amendment.”
The briefing, which featured the cast of “Ted Lasso” speaking about mental health, quickly went pear-shaped after Ateba began yelling about Jean-Pierre’s choice of reporters to call on and his inability to ask a question in seven months.
Wow pic.twitter.com/9VvF6sj01R
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 20, 2023
Jean-Pierre and other members of the press corps attempted to quiet Ateba down, suggested that the White House discriminated against him and other reporters, claiming that those in the front of the room were offered more opportunities to speak than those in the back.
“This is not China. This is not Russia. What you are doing you’re making a mockery of the First Amendment,” Ateba said.
I will be on @TuckerCarlson Tonight at 8:20 pm to discuss what transpired @WhiteHouse today. For seven months, I have done everything, sent emails, raised my hand sought for a meeting. They all disrespected me. pic.twitter.com/uglDi4glM1
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) March 20, 2023
Jean-Pierre later spoke about the incident, calling for decorum and respect in the historic White House press briefing room. She acknowledged that there would always be give and take in press briefings, but stressed the importance of respecting colleagues and guests: “As you know, this is the White House press briefing room. A historic room. A room that should have decorum. A room where folks should respect their colleagues and respect the guests that are here. And I understand that there’s going to be give and take. That’s the way the press briefing has gone for decades before me.”
Instead of standing for me, @whca @tamarakeithNPR of @NPR attacks me in letter to her WHCA members. pic.twitter.com/xRjdWmpLN4
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) March 20, 2023
AP reporter Zeke Miller later apologized to Jean-Pierre on behalf of the press corps for Ateba’s conduct: “I just wanted to express our apologies to the press corps, to the folks watching at home for the display you saw earlier. Our responsibility to them, we’re here to ask questions on their behalf, to hold their government accountable, but they can’t all be here. This isn’t about us,” the reporter said.
This incident was not the first time Ateba and Jean-Pierre clashed. In December 2022, Ateba accused Jean-Pierre of avoiding tough questions.
Karine Jean-Pierre just got humiliated by South African reporter Simon Ateba for glorifying celebrities while not allowing him to ask a single question over his 7 months of attending White House press briefings.
Ateba will be on Tucker Carlson tonight.pic.twitter.com/ITFg8HYmBU
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) March 20, 2023
