‘We have to have each other’s back in the press corps. So I appreciate that….’
(Claire Russel, Liberty Headlines) PBS White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor admitted that the mainstream press works together in their effort to oppose President Donald Trump.
“We know that covering President Trump sometimes is like a team sport,” she told MSNBC. “We have to have each other’s back in the press corps. So I appreciate that.”
Alcindor had a brief altercation with the president during a Sunday press briefing, after she asked a “negative” and “threatening” question that attempted to pin responsibility on Trump for the initial lag in Wuhan virus testing.
“Why don’t you act a little more positive?” Trump responded. “It’s always get ya, get ya, get ya. You know what? That’s why nobody trusts the media anymore. Look, let me tell you something. Be nice. Don’t be threatening.”
Within moments of the exchange, dozens of leftists and mainstream journalists rallied behind Alcindor:
#WeLoveYamiche and every professional journalist on the job covering the #CoronavirusOutbreak. Thank you.
— Donna Brazile (@donnabrazile) March 30, 2020
What, you don’t want us to tweet #WeLoveYamiche? https://t.co/je0fSHAqsX
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) March 30, 2020
The Washington Post even published an opinion column claiming Alcindor has been “abused” on national television—managing, in the process, to deploy the gender and race cards without evidence.
“Though Trump is a blabbermouth, he managed to bundle a sexist and racist jab in the span of five words,” wrote Post columnist Erik Wemple.
“‘Be nice. Don’t be threatening’—those admonitions play off expectations of how women should behave toward men and stereotypes of black people, respectively,” Wemple claimed.
Alcindor similarly suggested she had been the victim of veiled racism and sexism:
President Trump today at the White House said to me: “Be nice. Don’t be threatening.”
I’m not the first human being, woman, black person or journalist to be told that while doing a job.
My take: Be steady. Stay focused. Remember your purpose. And, always press forward.
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) March 29, 2020
In her follow-up interview with MSNBC, Alcindor claimed she was just trying to “hold [Trump] accountable” and thanked the other members of the press who “had my back.”