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The Trump White House inched ever closer to the gulag today with a literal assault on the freedom of the press.
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During a televised meeting of the corrupt minds between President Trump and the President of Kazakhstan, CNN’s Jim Acosta reported that White House press aides shouted in his face to drown out his questions.
As I attempted to ask questions in Roosevelt Room of Trump, WH press aides shouted in my face to drown out my questions. I have never encountered that before.
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) January 16, 2018
What occurred reminded me of something I would see in a different country. Certainly not at the WH. Certainly not in the U.S. https://t.co/hV6vPRe0p2
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) January 16, 2018
When I tried to follow up on this in the Oval Office, Trump told me to get "out." We then went to the Roosevelt Room where WH aides obstructed us from asking questions. https://t.co/vuEIv1jvso
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) January 16, 2018
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CNBC’s Christina Wilkie corroborated Acosta’s account, naming Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley as the perp.
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CNN’s @Acosta just described how WH Dep. Press Sec. Hogan Gidley got up in his face in the Oval Office and screamed so loudly that he ensured Trump wouldn’t hear their questions.
— Christina Wilkie (@christinawilkie) January 16, 2018
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This was the first time I've seen @realDonaldTrump as @POTUS point a finger and say "out" while reporters were attempting to ask questions. https://t.co/kAbUBPQoj6
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) January 16, 2018
Maybe it was Trump’s attempt at making his guest feel more at home? President Nursultan Nazarbayev is the only one Kazakhstan has ever had – he’s held the position since it was established in 1990 after the fall of the Soviet Union. First rule of dictatorship? There’s only ever one dictator, if you can help it.
By all accounts Nazarbayev is not running a free country. According to independent watchdog agency Freedom House, Kazakhstan has no free press. On a scale of 0 to 30 (with zero being the best and 30 being the worst,) the country earns a 28 (almost the worst) for the health of its legal environment. Its political and economic environments each get a 33/40 (where 40 is the worst).
So maybe, letting Hogan Gidley work out all his issues from living with that name his whole life by screaming at Jim Acosta during a press event was not part of the inevitable march towards dictatorship, but rather an expression of hospitality. But Trump can’t even be bothered to make his own wife feel comfortable in the White House, chances are slim he’s giving his team a pep talk about proper silverware placement and customs to make foreign dictators feel welcome.
This is one more troubling sign of deep corruption in Trump’s White House.