WaPo journalist torched online for asking Jean-Pierre if Biden admin has looked into stopping Elon Musk interview with Trump



A Washington Post journalist faced the wrath of online critics after he asked whether the Biden administration was considering taking action against an interview of former President Donald Trump hosted on the X social media platform.

Cleve Wootson asked the bizarre question during Monday's media briefing at the White House just ahead of the interview by X owner and billionaire Elon Musk.

'It is incredibly important to call that out as you are doing.'

"I think that misinformation on Twitter is not just a campaign issue; it's an America issue," said Wootson.

"What role does the White House or the president have in sort of stopping that, or stopping the spread of that or intervening? Some of that was about campaign misinformation, but you know, it's a wider thing, right?" he added.

"Don't have anything to read out from here about specific ways that we're working on it, but we believe that they have the responsibility, these are private companies, so we're also mindful of that too," responded press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

"But, look, it is incredibly important to call that out as you are doing. I just don't have any specifics on what we've been doing internally as it relates to the interviews, and that's something that I'm tracking," she added.

Video of the interaction was posted to social media, where it was widely circulated with millions of views. Many users lambasted the reporter for demanding government censorship.

"Democracy Dies in Darkness," responded writer Charles C.W. Cooke of National Review, referring ironically to the Post's motto.

"This is what 'what in the actual F' was created for," replied commentator Mary Katharine Ham.

"That time when a Washington Post reporter revealed he did not understand the part of the Constitution that literally enables his job," responded history podcaster Jack Henneman.

"Why would any news organization employ someone like @CleveWootson, who wastes their opportunity to ask the White House a question to advocate for censorship? @JeffBezos, you're paying for this to the tune of $77 million per year. You down with this? Do you have zero f's to give?" replied Derek Hunter.

"The White House literally peddled the misinformation/disinformation that Joe Biden was alright for years. They should sit this one out," read another response.

The X interview of the ex-president began late but continued as planned without government intervention.

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WaPost slides offensive remark against Clarence Thomas into 'news' report: 'Why don't they just call him an Uncle Tom?'



A Washington Post report on a top Democratic lawmaker's influence over President Joe Biden's next Supreme Court nominee denigrated Justice Clarence Thomas, the court's only black justice, with a racially charged reference.

The Post referred to Thomas as "the Black justice whose rulings often resemble the thinking of White conservatives," dismissing all of his personal convictions and legal philosophy as merely co-opted from white people.

The report, authored by White House reporter Cleve Wootson Jr. and congressional reporter Marianna Sotomayor, covers House Majority Whip Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) and his advocacy for U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs to be Biden's nominee to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court. Childs, a federal judge from South Carolina, is feared by some progressives to be one of the more moderate of Biden's possible nominees.

The derogatory reference to Thomas — the only reference in the lengthy article — comes after a quote from Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), a friend and ally of Clyburn's who assured the Washington Post that no one believes a judicial nominee supported by Clyburn would turn out to be a secret conservative on the court.

“Nobody that I’m aware of feels that opposing Clyburn’s nomination would be the wise thing to do,” Thompson told the Post. "If you know that a person has been vetted by Jim Clyburn, you know that person won’t go to the court and end up being a Clarence Thomas."

The Post explained that Thompson was "referring to the Black justice whose rulings often resemble the thinking of White conservatives."

That offensive description of Thomas was wholly an invention of the reporters. Thompson said no such thing, nor did he even imply that by his remarks, although he has previously called Thomas an "Uncle Tom."

Some commentators accused the Washington Post of doing the same thing in spirit.

"Why don't they just call him an Uncle Tom?" commented Jeff Jacoby, an op-ed columnist with the Boston Globe who criticized the Post article on Twitter.

This is journalism? Reporters @CleveWootson and @MariannaReports snidely identify Clarence Thomas \u2014 in a news story \u2014 as "the Black justice whose rulings often resemble the thinking of White conservatives." Why don't they just call him an Uncle Tom?\nhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/02/16/clyburn-supreme-court/\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/8psN128xJk
— Jeff Jacoby (@Jeff Jacoby) 1645070945

Other conservatives piled on the Post, including Sen. Mike Lee (Utah).

Leftists at the Washington Post are trying to bully Justice Clarence Thomas again. When will they learn this doesn\u2019t work? He\u2019s his own man. His commitment to the Constitution and his judicial independence drive the left mad. He is a treasure to our nation.pic.twitter.com/HM8bM0BSLk
— Mike Lee (@Mike Lee) 1645118023

"This bon mot in a reported analysis about Rep. James Clyburn’s credibility doesn’t even qualify as a dog whistle. It’s as subtle as an air horn," said Ed Morrissey, senior editor for Hot Air.

This bon mot in a reported analysis about Rep. James Clyburn\u2019s credibility doesn\u2019t even qualify as a dog whistle. It\u2019s as subtle as an air horn. Via @Jeff_Jacoby. \n\nWaPo: Clarence Thomas' "rulings often resemble the thinking of White conservatives"https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2022/02/17/wapo-clarence-thomas-rulings-often-resemble-the-thinking-of-white-conservatives-n449188\u00a0\u2026
— Ed Morrissey (@Ed Morrissey) 1645104704

"What is it about Clarence Thomas that brings out liberals’ inner racist?" asked Tom Elliott, the founder of Grabien.

"Just a little casual racism in the news section of the Washington Post," said John Daniel Davidson, senior editor of the Federalist.

Oh nothing, just a little casual racism in the news section of the Washington Post.https://twitter.com/fedjudges/status/1494129276710375424\u00a0\u2026
— John Daniel Davidson (@John Daniel Davidson) 1645109667