According to Washington D.C. talk show host Vince Coglianese, the White House’s refusal to grant access to The New York Post during a recent event could result from their reluctance to face difficult questions.
Coglianese highlighted that journalist Steven Nelson was allegedly turned away, indicating that the current administration may not be open to answering challenging inquiries.
During his show on 105.9FM WMAL on Wednesday, Coglianese pointed out that the White House’s recent move to restrict access to President Joe Biden is happening simultaneously with a federal inquiry into Hunter Biden, the President’s son.
“Steven Nelson asks real questions,” stated Coglianese. “They didn’t want a real question and they knew that Steven was primed to ask questions, potentially about one of the biggest stories in the country, Hunter Biden and Biden’s family corruption.”
Simon Ateba, the Chief White House correspondent for Today News Africa and someone who has clashed with White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, appeared on Coglianese’s show to share his perspective. Ateba characterized the current administration as repressive and accused them of attempting to silence journalists whose views do not align with their own.
During his conversation with Coglianese, Ateba claimed that the White House prevented at least 20 individuals, including Steven Nelson, from attending an event hosted by President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
“This is not the first time [that this happened], that White House repeatedly did this when Joe Biden came to power in 2021,” Ateba said. “First, it was COVID, and COVID was over, and the same criteria continues. This is not just about banning access to journalists in the room, and it’s about asking journalists to submit their questions beforehand, and when they don’t send questions in advance, they don’t get called on.”
Coglianese noted that Biden recently summoned a journalist from the Los Angeles Times while clutching a written copy of the question.
“There was a picture of her; there was a description of how to pronounce her name,” Coglianese added. “Having been in the White House press briefing room, it’s a small area; you can’t avoid being with the other journalists, lots of conversation, lots of drama behind the scenes.”
