Donald Trump bans Washington Post from his presidential campaign for 'inaccurate reporting'
Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump banned The Washington Post on Monday, June 13 from covering his presidential campaign, citing the news organization's "inaccurate" reporting.
Trump quickly took to Facebook to highlight the "incredibly inaccurate coverage and reporting" of Post's headline story Monday afternoon that read, "Donald Trump suggests President Obama was involved with Orlando shooting."
The article was written off Trump's comments in an interview with Fox News that morning.
Trump wrote, "Based on the incredibly inaccurate coverage and reporting of the record setting Trump campaign, we are hereby revoking the press credentials of the phony and dishonest Washington Post."
Later that night, Trump's camp issued a statement that said, "We no longer feel compelled to work with a publication which has put its need for 'clicks' above journalistic integrity."
On the other end, Post spokeswoman Kristine Coratti Kelly, told The Guardian (via email) that the outlet amended the headline shortly after it was published "to more properly reflect what Trump said" while noting that none from Trump's camp reached out to them.
"When coverage doesn't correspond to what the candidate wants it to be, then a news organization is banished," said Martin Baron, Post executive editor, in a statement.
Baron announced that even without credentials granted by Trump's camp, the publication will continue to cover the candidate's campaign "honourably, honestly, accurately, energetically, and unflinchingly. We're proud of our coverage, and we're going to keep at it."
Journalists from other media outlets, who reacted on the news through Twitter posts, hailed Trump's ban as a news organization's badge of honor.
Post opinion writer Dana Milbank wrote Tuesday suggesting that the right response to Trump's ban is a media blackout. Warning that it may only be a matter of time before Trump attacks other news outlets as well, Milbank detailed several means journalists could push back Trump's authoritarian acts.
Other news outlets in Trump's blacklist are Politico, Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, Gawker, Foreign Policy, Fusion, Univision, Mother Jones, The New Hampshire Union Leader, The Des Moines Register, and The Daily Beast.