Trump condemns attacks on media after BBC incident
12 February 2019
Donald Trump has condemned attacks on the media after an incident involving a BBC cameraman at the US president's rally in Texas on Monday. A White House statement did not refer to the specific incident. It said the president "condemns all acts of violence against any individual or group of people - including members of the press". The BBC's Ron Skeans was shoved and sworn at by a man in a Make America Great Again cap in El Paso. The BBC later asked the White House to review security for media attending President Trump's rallies. In a letter, the BBC said the press area was unsupervised, and no security had tried to intervene during the incident. The White House statement, from Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, added: "We ask that anyone attending an event do so in a peaceful and respectful manner." Mr Trump has been critical of media, which he has called the enemy of the people. After Monday's incident, Mr Trump's campaign team thanked law enforcement for ejecting the unidentified man. "An individual involved in a physical altercation with a news cameraman was removed from last night's rally," said Michael Glassner, the chief operating officer for Trump for President Inc. "We appreciate the swift action from venue security and law enforcement officers." The man, who a Trump campaign official said appeared to be drunk, gave Mr Skeans a "very hard shove", according to the cameraman. Mr Skeans said the man almost knocked him and his camera over twice before he was wrestled away by a blogger. President Trump saw the attack, checked they were well with a thumbs up and continued his speech after Mr Skeans returned the gesture. BBC Washington producer Eleanor Montague and Washington correspondent Gary O'Donoghue were sitting in front of the camera. Ms Montague said the protester had attacked other news crews but Mr Skeans "got the brunt of it". In the letter to Ms Sanders, the BBC's Americas Bureaux Editor Paul Danahar asked for a review of security arrangements for members of the press attending the president's rallies. Mr Danahar pointed out "that access into the media area last night was unsupervised and that no member of law enforcement or security stopped the attacker entering, intervened when he began his attack or followed up on the incident with our colleagues afterwards". The president went to El Paso, on the US border with Mexico, to campaign for a border wall, a divisive issue which caused the longest government shutdown in US history. Ms Montague said the president had spoken of "fake news" and how the media misrepresented him in the run up to the assault. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr O'Donoghue said it was "an incredibly violent attack". Last August UN experts warned Mr Trump's attacks "increase the risk of journalists being targeted with violence", calling his rhetoric "strategic". New York Times publisher AG Sulzberger has urged the president to stop his media assaults.
The man, who a Trump campaign official said appeared to be drunk, gave Mr Skeans a "very hard shove", according to the cameraman. Mr Skeans said the man almost knocked him and his camera over twice before he was wrestled away by a blogger. President Trump saw the attack, checked they were well with a thumbs up and continued his speech after Mr Skeans returned the gesture. BBC Washington producer Eleanor Montague and Washington correspondent Gary O'Donoghue were sitting in front of the camera. Ms Montague said the protester had attacked other news crews but Mr Skeans "got the brunt of it".
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What happened at the rally?
In the letter to Ms Sanders, the BBC's Americas Bureaux Editor Paul Danahar asked for a review of security arrangements for members of the press attending the president's rallies. Mr Danahar pointed out "that access into the media area last night was unsupervised and that no member of law enforcement or security stopped the attacker entering, intervened when he began his attack or followed up on the incident with our colleagues afterwards".
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What did the BBC letter say?
The president went to El Paso, on the US border with Mexico, to campaign for a border wall, a divisive issue which caused the longest government shutdown in US history. Ms Montague said the president had spoken of "fake news" and how the media misrepresented him in the run up to the assault. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr O'Donoghue said it was "an incredibly violent attack". Last August UN experts warned Mr Trump's attacks "increase the risk of journalists being targeted with violence", calling his rhetoric "strategic". New York Times publisher AG Sulzberger has urged the president to stop his media assaults.
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What is the background?