Dana Milbank, a liberal, anti-Trump columnist for the Washington Post, groused Wednesday that the White House had revoked his press pass after he had held it for 21 years.
He surmised: “I strongly suspect it’s because I’m a Trump critic.”
“The White House eliminated most briefings and severely restricted access to official events. And this week came the coup de grace: After covering four presidents, I received an email informing me that Trump’s press office had revoked my White House credential,” Milbank described in an article in the Washington Post.
“I’m not looking for pity,” Milbank said.
Milbank, 51, went on to lament that his credentials were pulled because he had two foot surgeries and failed to live up to the White House’s press credentials minimum standard of showing up to briefings 90 days out of 180.
He said he was offered a “lesser credential” but indicated he had demurred, saying he would now cover the White House “from a distance.”
Last November, the White House pulled CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta’s credential for “placing his hands” on a White House intern attempting to get the mic back from him after questioning the president.
President Trump believes in a free press and expects and welcomes tough questions of him and his Administration. We will, however, never tolerate a reporter placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern…
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) November 8, 2018
CNN sued the White House over the incident, and Acosta’s credentials were restored after the White House issued new rules for reporters.
Milbank said the White House’s new rules are “part of a mass purge.”
