White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said she was unaware that almost all U.S. journalists traveling with President Trump were shut out of a meeting of world leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Da Nang, Vietnam, on Saturday.
Sanders told the pool of reporters traveling with Trump that she became aware that journalists were shut out of the event only after it happened and that in the future, the White House will do a better job of communicating to reporters where they will have limited access.
At the meeting of world leaders, only a Fox News TV camera and an official White House photographer were allowed inside to capture images. The Fox camera was tasked that day with shooting video of the president to share with other TV news outlets.
Margaret Talev, a reporter for Bloomberg and president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, which oversees the press pool that covers the president, said in a statement that the association is “concerned that access on this trip has eroded more significantly and that notice about changes or new coverage restrictions has often come with too short of notice to be able to react effectively.”
After the closed event, Trump himself spoke with journalists, Sanders said, out of personal concern that they were not admitted to cover the meeting.
Trump is currently on a tour through Asia.
