An African reporter working in the United States felt so discriminated against that he wondered out loud what the White House would do to him. Today News Africa chief White House correspondent Simon Ateba said not only did Karine Jean-Pierre refuse to let him ask his question but his exchange with her was erased from the recording of the briefing. Jean-Pierre threatened to end the event.
The reporter wasn’t shy about his thoughts
Ateba spoke to the Daily Caller’s editorial director Vince Coglianese, “I don’t know if I’m safe, I don’t know if they’ll kill me, I don’t know what they will do next.” In the exchange between the press secretary and Ateba, the reporter could be heard accusing the White House of discrimination.
“So are you going to take questions from me?… because you’ve been discriminating against me for the past nine months.” Jean-Pierre called him “incredibly rude” for interrupting and threatened to end the session if he persisted.
Simon Ateba is back at it again in the press briefing. pic.twitter.com/4BXTT4gfbw
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) June 26, 2023
The reporter has been shut down
“I’ve been in this briefing room. I’ve been trying to ask you one question when I am on. You’re not giving freedom of the press.” Real Clear Politics noted Ateba hasn’t been able to ask a question in nine months.
The White House actually responded quickly when Fox News asked them about it. The missing portion was restored and said it was the result of an error in the encoder that transmits the information to YouTube.
On what some are calling the so-called chaos at the White House today, I was just trying to ask a question. It's a pity what's going on. How can @PressSec Karine Jean-Pierre preach about the freedom of the press when she is violating the First Amendment many died to protect? May… pic.twitter.com/wOBsOv6GwI
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) June 26, 2023
The reporter is skeptical
Understandably Ateba as well as much of the United States wonders if it was actually a “technical error”. He’s been consistently shut out for months at White House events and press briefings. Emails go unanswered.
He was offended that the Biden administration would talk out of both sides of its mouth. They claim to want good relations between them and Africa but at the same time ignoring an African reporter. Ateba complained,
“And you pass on him, you banned him, you sidelined him, you oppressed him, you discriminated against him only to go to Africa and claim that you want to strengthen ties. It’s actually actually offensive. It’s shocking. They’re trying to keep me out of the briefing room. I don’t know how far they will go to silence me. Maybe they’ll hack my phone, maybe they’ll hack my laptop. Maybe they’ve done things I’m not really aware of. But for them to do that, or to even appear to do that, to try to edit me and cancel me and silence me, it’s maybe the beginning of something really ugly, and I just want people to keep praying for me. Keep praying for me. I don’t know what will happen to me tomorrow.”
Ateba needs to remember that black voices are only listened to if they agree with the Democrats.
