Trump wants to punish reporters for asking questions

President Trump’s disdain for the news media is well documented. He routinely attacks those working in the media and assails their reporting as “fake news.” But he may now be taking that to a new level, threatening to punish reporters for daring to ask questions. At a bill signing on Tuesday, the presidential action was being covered by, among others, CNN, one of Trump’s favorite targets. CNN White House correspondent Jim Accosta was warned by White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders that if he asked a question at the conclusion of the bill signing, he may be barred from covering other White House events. What? It is the job of a White House correspondent to ask questions of the President. And it seems these days there are plenty of questions to ask. President Trump is under no obligation to answer questions posed to him by reporters, but he can’t prevent them from asking. Trump may not like this reporter, or his employer, but it is not his role to determine who covers his events. He can label those reports he doesn’t like as “fake news” but that doesn’t make them any less true.