SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak during a joint statement in the East Room of the White House on January 28, 2020 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)
'You Did a Good Job on Her': White House Audience Laughs as Trump Praises Pompeo for Bullying NPR Reporter
"That was very impressive, Mike," the president said to applause during a press conference in the White House.
Jan 27, 2020
President Donald Trump on Tuesday praised Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for bullying and berating NPR reporter Mary Louise Kelly, who last week infuriated Pompeo by asking him basic questions about Ukraine and the ongoing impeachment trial.
"That reporter couldn't have done too good a job on you," Trump said during a press conference in the White House held with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "Think you did a good job on her, actually."
Pompeo smiled and laughed along with the audience as Trump rambled on about rumors that the secretary of state is planning a Senate run.
"They all want him to," the president said. "Kansas, great state."
Trump's remarks, and the laughter they provoked, were met with disgust.
"Congrats to all of those in the audience laughing along to attacks on the free press," tweeted Georgetown professor Don Moynihan.
Watch Trump's comments:
As Common Dreams reported on Saturday, Kelly said Pompeo lashed out at her with an expletive-filled rant following an interview Friday in which she asked the secretary of state about Ukraine and other topics.
"Do you think Americans care about Ukraine?" Pompeo asked, according to Kelly.
Pompeo claimed in a statement Saturday that Kelly agreed beforehand that the interview would not include questions about Ukraine. The secretary of state also said Kelly agreed to keep the post-interview conversation off the record.
Kelly denied agreeing to such preconditions, and emails obtained by the Washington Post Sunday showed Kelly confirmed with Pompeo's press aide that the interview would include questions on Ukraine.
The State Department on Monday escalated the fight with NPR by barring reporter Michele Kelemen from traveling with Pompeo on an upcoming trip to Eastern Europe.
In a statement late Monday, the State Department Correspondents' Association criticized the decision to bar Kelemen.
"Michele is a consummate professional who has covered the State Department for nearly two decades," the association said. "We respectfully ask the State Department to reconsider and allow Michele to travel on the plane for this trip."
In a tweet on Monday night, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) warned that "when Trump administration officials are allowed to bar press simply for doing their job... we are entering the chilling realm of an autocracy."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday praised Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for bullying and berating NPR reporter Mary Louise Kelly, who last week infuriated Pompeo by asking him basic questions about Ukraine and the ongoing impeachment trial.
"That reporter couldn't have done too good a job on you," Trump said during a press conference in the White House held with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "Think you did a good job on her, actually."
Pompeo smiled and laughed along with the audience as Trump rambled on about rumors that the secretary of state is planning a Senate run.
"They all want him to," the president said. "Kansas, great state."
Trump's remarks, and the laughter they provoked, were met with disgust.
"Congrats to all of those in the audience laughing along to attacks on the free press," tweeted Georgetown professor Don Moynihan.
Watch Trump's comments:
As Common Dreams reported on Saturday, Kelly said Pompeo lashed out at her with an expletive-filled rant following an interview Friday in which she asked the secretary of state about Ukraine and other topics.
"Do you think Americans care about Ukraine?" Pompeo asked, according to Kelly.
Pompeo claimed in a statement Saturday that Kelly agreed beforehand that the interview would not include questions about Ukraine. The secretary of state also said Kelly agreed to keep the post-interview conversation off the record.
Kelly denied agreeing to such preconditions, and emails obtained by the Washington Post Sunday showed Kelly confirmed with Pompeo's press aide that the interview would include questions on Ukraine.
The State Department on Monday escalated the fight with NPR by barring reporter Michele Kelemen from traveling with Pompeo on an upcoming trip to Eastern Europe.
In a statement late Monday, the State Department Correspondents' Association criticized the decision to bar Kelemen.
"Michele is a consummate professional who has covered the State Department for nearly two decades," the association said. "We respectfully ask the State Department to reconsider and allow Michele to travel on the plane for this trip."
In a tweet on Monday night, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) warned that "when Trump administration officials are allowed to bar press simply for doing their job... we are entering the chilling realm of an autocracy."
President Donald Trump on Tuesday praised Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for bullying and berating NPR reporter Mary Louise Kelly, who last week infuriated Pompeo by asking him basic questions about Ukraine and the ongoing impeachment trial.
"That reporter couldn't have done too good a job on you," Trump said during a press conference in the White House held with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "Think you did a good job on her, actually."
Pompeo smiled and laughed along with the audience as Trump rambled on about rumors that the secretary of state is planning a Senate run.
"They all want him to," the president said. "Kansas, great state."
Trump's remarks, and the laughter they provoked, were met with disgust.
"Congrats to all of those in the audience laughing along to attacks on the free press," tweeted Georgetown professor Don Moynihan.
Watch Trump's comments:
As Common Dreams reported on Saturday, Kelly said Pompeo lashed out at her with an expletive-filled rant following an interview Friday in which she asked the secretary of state about Ukraine and other topics.
"Do you think Americans care about Ukraine?" Pompeo asked, according to Kelly.
Pompeo claimed in a statement Saturday that Kelly agreed beforehand that the interview would not include questions about Ukraine. The secretary of state also said Kelly agreed to keep the post-interview conversation off the record.
Kelly denied agreeing to such preconditions, and emails obtained by the Washington Post Sunday showed Kelly confirmed with Pompeo's press aide that the interview would include questions on Ukraine.
The State Department on Monday escalated the fight with NPR by barring reporter Michele Kelemen from traveling with Pompeo on an upcoming trip to Eastern Europe.
In a statement late Monday, the State Department Correspondents' Association criticized the decision to bar Kelemen.
"Michele is a consummate professional who has covered the State Department for nearly two decades," the association said. "We respectfully ask the State Department to reconsider and allow Michele to travel on the plane for this trip."
In a tweet on Monday night, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) warned that "when Trump administration officials are allowed to bar press simply for doing their job... we are entering the chilling realm of an autocracy."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.