White House Correspondents’ Association President Jacqui Heinrich said that the Trump administration was engaged in retaliation by blocking a journalist’s access because the president was upset over his questions.
Heinrich, senior White House correspondent for Fox News, said in a statement on Wednesday, “The White House Correspondents’ Association strongly objects to the decision to restrict a journalist’s coverage simply because the president didn’t care for their questioning. That is retaliation. The American public’s right to an independent press depends on reporters being able to do their jobs without fear that challenging the president will cut off their access.”
Heinrich’s statement followed a Semafor report that Andrew Feinberg, correspondent for The Independent, had been told by the White House that he no longer would be print pooler on Trump’s trip to South Carolina on Wednesday evening.
On Tuesday, Feinberg was part of the pool in the Oval Office as Trump took questions from reporters following his announcement of a new fraud tip line where whistleblowers could collect up to $30,000, or 1% on commissioners, for exposing government fraud. He asked Trump about the False Claims Act, a law that has been on the books since the 1800s that allows them to collect much higher sums, up to 25%.
When Feinberg tried to ask additional questions, Trump lashed out at him. He said to Feinberg at one point, “What is wrong with you? Are you a sick person?” Vice President JD Vance posted on X that Feinberg was an “imbecile” and the White House rapid response account called him a “mongoloid moron,” a slur. Feinberg did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump lashed out again on Wednesday when taking questions on his way to Marine One heading to the South Carolina trip. He called CNN’s Kaitlan Collins “a low-IQ person” and told her, “You’re a dummy.” He also called a reporter for ABC News “a stupid person.”
A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Feinberg defended his questions in an account posted on The Independent website and wrote, “For the record, I had an annual physical earlier this month, and I can report I’m in perfect health. I was doing my job, and I’ll be right back at it tomorrow.”
Last year, the White House took control of who was selected to be in the press pool rotation after years in which the WHCA determined the scheduling.