WH Press Sec gets called out by reporter for discrimination
3 Min Read
This does not mark the first time Ateba accuses Jean-Pierre of discriminating against him, and has even blamed her predecessor, Jen Psaki, for the same thing.
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White House Press Sec Karine Jean-Pierre at the press briefing room of the White House in Washington, DC, on December 9, 2022 (AFP)
During a press briefing on Monday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was called out by White House correspondent for Today News Africa, Simon Ateba, for deliberately refusing to call on him for questions he had.
“Before you begin, I would like to request that you call on everyone from across the room. You have been discriminating against me and against some people in the briefing room … you are making a mockery of the First Amendment. It has been seven months, you have not called on me, and you have ignored my messages, I’m saying that’s not right," he said in the room full of press.
Jean-Pierre then proceeded to request "decorum" or better appropriate behavior and apologized to the cast of "Ted Lasso" who was there to talk about mental health.
She then went on with her briefing until Ateba interrupted her again with the same accusation that he and other journalists were being unacknowledged.
Ateba was scolded by some of the present reporters such as Brian Karem, political analyst for CNN, who told him to “mind your manners while you are in here, if you have a problem bring it up afterward. You are impinging on everyone else here who is only trying to do their jobs.”
To Reuters reporter Jeff Mason, Ateba said, “Understand that you get questions all the time, you don’t have to sit here for eight months and be discriminated against. Understand that you are in the front row and you’ve been comfy, and you get questions all the time. There are people in the back who don’t get any questions.”
Reminder from an immigrant
Some reporters apologized to Jean-Pierre for Ateba's interruption such as NBC News correspondent and White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) Vice President Kelly O’Donnell.
Jean-Pierre called the room 'historic' as she expressed, “As you all know, this is... a room that should have decorum, a room where folks should respect their colleagues, and respect the guests who are here.”
This does not mark the first time Ateba accuses Jean-Pierre of discriminating against him, and has even blamed her predecessor, Jen Psaki, for the same thing.
In December during a press briefing, he said, “People like me, it's been a disaster, a catastrophe, covering the Biden White House,” adding, “Right now I'm the voice of Africa in the US. But I can confirm that the level of discrimination against me and against African journalists in the White House is astounding, disgraceful.”
Ateba argued that his questions were disregarded due to his African accent, reminding Jean-Pierre that she is "an immigrant," and that he was shocked to get this treatment from her.
“It's shocking, because she's black, she's an immigrant… I'm black. I'm also an immigrant,” said Ateba of Jean-Pierre, who was born in France and moved to the US as a child. “The first thing, I sound different. I wasn't born here. I was born in Cameroon … I don't have the American accent. I've tried. I've failed."
The First Amendment guarantees the freedom of religion, press, and speech and prohibits Congress from forbidding freedom of expression by the press in the US Constitution.
