Reporter Brian Karem predicted Wednesday a reporter will soon be the victim of an assault as a result of the Trump administration’s treatment of the media.
“It is undermining the First Amendment. It is dangerous. It is making it dangerous for reporters. You’re absolutely right, there will come a time, it won’t be too far off, I surmise. We will see a reporter is going to face physical harm because of this,” Karem, a White House correspondent for Playboy and other publications, told CNN’s “New Day” about the White House’s regularly criticizing reporters at briefings.
Karem didn’t specify whether he believes a member of the White House press office or random person outside of the administration would be the perpetrator.
Karem lambasted deputy press secretary Sarah Sanders during a White House press briefing Tuesday afternoon for how he said she was discrediting the media by saying they focus on unimportant national issues.
His outburst was in response to Sanders’ telling reporters Trump was “frustrated” by the “constant barrage of fake news” regarding the federal and congressional investigations into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.
Sanders disagreed with Karem’s criticism of the White House, shooting back at him.
“If anything has been inflamed, it’s the dishonesty that often takes place by the news media. And I think it is outrageous for you to accuse me of inflaming a story when I was simply trying to respond to his question,” Sanders said, referring the press to a James O’Keefe video that showed a CNN producer saying they sensationalize reports on Trump.
The reporter told MSNBC on Wednesday he has been “bullied” by Trump’s staff because their boss sees only good or bad stories. He said that ends up often making the press an enemy for its reporting on investigations related to Trump.
Karem believes the White House’s put-down treatment of reporters will be picked up by lower-level politicians.
“The simple fact of the matter is if you pretend this is business as usual in the White House and anywhere else, this trickles down to state houses and city government — they see a guy at the top can get away with it,” Karem said.
As of Wednesday morning, Karem said the White House had not revoked his press credentials and was unsure how they will respond to his outburst in Tuesday’s meeting.
