Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House Press Secretary, sparked controversy during her Tuesday, October 31, press briefing.
As she concluded the meeting,New York Post reporter Steve Nelson protested vigorously that she had ignored him, a complaint he's raised several times before.
Nelson accused Jean-Pierre of being against a free press for refusing to answer his questions.
He chastised her as she retreated from the briefing room, declaring, "It's anti-democratic to refuse questions from one of our country's four largest newspapers, Karine!"
Despite the drama, this incident was nowhere near as explosive as their encounter almost three weeks ago. On October 11, Nelson confronted Jean-Pierre, claiming she had not called on him for "two seasons."
In response, Jean-Pierre bluntly stated, "I'm not calling on you today." She then turned her attention to another reporter.
Nelson was not deterred, exclaiming, "You should be ashamed of that! That shows disrespect to a free and independent media! It's blacklisting one of the nation's largest and most-read newspapers, Karine. That shows contempt for a free and independent press!"
Jean-Pierre eventually silenced him by saying, "I'm calling on somebody I haven't called on in a long time, as well."
Moments after the altercation, Nelson took to his X account to comment on the incident, stating, "The @NYPost is our country's oldest daily newspaper. We have the 4th-largest print circulation and only NY Times has more web traffic. @PressSec last called on me in May, and on a colleague in July."
"The May exchange was also about press freedom issues," Nelson wrote, linking to an article regarding the Biden administration's pre-screening process for reporters at exclusive events.
Jean-Pierre gave no explanation for skipping over Nelson, but the reporter has frequently written sharp critiques about her and the rest of the Biden team.
Nelson clashed with the White House earlier this year as well.
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In May, he was banned from a press conference with President Joe Biden, leading the New York Post to publish an op-ed titled, "Why are White House staff afraid to let a Post reporter question Biden?"
The article suggested that the White House staff was fearful that tough questions from Nelson could further damage President Biden's poll numbers.
In the article, the outlet suggested that "maybe they fear he’ll blow up if asked about the border, or the debt."
