Republished with permission by Knowhere News

The Trump administration’s contentious relationship with mainstream media outlets continued on Wednesday as the president’s top communications officers barred a CNN reporter from attending a White House event.

Reporter Kaitlan Collins asked President Donald Trump about Vladimir Putin and Michael Cohen during a short meeting between Trump and Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission. Collins was serving as the “pool reporter,” meaning she was representing all the TV networks at the time.

Trump did not answer her questions, but afterward Collins said she was called into the office of Bill Shine, the new communications chief at the White House. Once there, Shine and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, informed her she would not be allowed to attend an open press event scheduled for later that afternoon because they thought her question was “inappropriate for that venue,” according to Collins.

Collins said she replied, “You’re banning me from an event because you didn’t like the questions I asked.”

CNN in a statement called the decision “retaliatory in nature and not indicative of a open and free press,” adding, “We demand better.” TV networks, including Fox News, also issued statements in support of Collins.

This White House has long had a contentious relationship with the media, with Trump often labeling outlets such as CNN and NBC News as “fake news.”

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