Jen Psaki and the back of the room

How not to get called on

Lewis Clinton, a hotel/restaurant financial guy I know through Twitter, suggested I do a substack post on the recent row from outgoing Press Secretary’s final briefing Friday. As the New York Post reported,

As Psaki began to take questions — after fighting back tears as she thanked members of the administration and the press corps — Simon Ateba, the chief White House correspondent for Today News Africa, was heard yelling from the back of the press briefing room.

“Why don’t you take questions from across the room?” Ateba asked as Associated Press reporter Zeke Miller attempted to get things started with a query about the ongoing baby formula shortage. 

You can watched the exchange starting at the following link after minute 24.

<iframe width=512 height=330 src='https://www.c-span.org/video/standalone/?520257-1/white-house-press-secretary-jen-psaki-holds-final-briefing' allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' frameborder=0></iframe>

You also can see Atabe do the same thing in February during minute 15, 16 and 17.

I talked to a former White House press corps colleague about the exchange. He said the following:

“There is a storied tradition in the briefing room of hangers-on, gadflies, posers and trail-blazing independent journalists, and those are not overlapping categories necessarily. Administrations, much to their credit, have tolerated even the most eccentric of these attendees.”

And: “I do believe there is a fine line in that room between being assertive when you’re ignored and hectoring, and I would fall on the side that Simon has crossed the line.”

Lastly: “Just because you’re in the room, it doesn’t mean you have a God-given right to be called on by the press secretary.”

Ateba started shouting that he wanted to be called on as soon as Psaki said she was taking questions. He was flouting a tradition of press secretaries leading off by calling on the Associated Press — a practice dropped by former Press Secretary Sean Spicer.

Nobody paying attention expects to get called on before the front row gets started. Trying to cut in line is an act of self-sabotage.

And he was acting out during Psaki’s emotional farewell briefing. Read: Worst timing ever.

Debra J. Saunders is a fellow at the Discovery Institute's Chapman Center for Citizen Leadership. Contact her at dsaunders@discovery.org.

Note: I changed the lede as Lewis Chilton bristled at being called a “tweep.” No offense intended.