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| Huffpost White House reporter S.V. Dáte, left, was ignored by Donald Trump. |
The bombshell question seemed to come out of nowhere at a recent White House press briefing but the Indian American journalist has been waiting a long time to ask his question.
“Mr. President, after three and a half years, do you regret at all, all the lying you’ve done to the American people?” asked S.V. Dáte, HuffPost’s White House correspondent from the back of the room.
“I’ve been in this business more than three decades, and what’s happening now is unprecedented,” Dáte wrote when he unsuccessfully campaigned to become president of the White House Correspondents’ Association.
“Mr. President, after three and a half years, do you regret at all, all the lying you’ve done to the American people?” asked S.V. Dáte, HuffPost’s White House correspondent from the back of the room.
Trump acted as if he didn't hear the question. "What?" asked the Indian American reporter.
“All the lying. All the dishonesties,” Dáte repeated.
“That who has done?” Trump asked.
“You have done,” Dáte said.
Trump paused briefly, then called on another reporter without answering Dáte's question.
“That who has done?” Trump asked.
“You have done,” Dáte said.
Trump paused briefly, then called on another reporter without answering Dáte's question.
But, too late. The camera's recorded the brief interchange between Trump and Dáte. Someone posted it on social media and it went viral.
For too long, White House reporters have asking their questions respectfully and avoided confrontations: Some because they were afraid of losing their credentials in the White House Press Corps, others because they were too timid, afraid to draw the wrath of hte most powerful person in the world.
With more than 30 years of journalistic experience under his belt, lately, Dáte has been urging his colleagues to push back on Trump’s lies and misinformation.
For the record, Trump has been feeding the journalists falsehoods ever since he began his campaign for the presidency.
The question wasn't a spontaneous one. “For five years I’ve been wanting to ask him that,” Dáte tweeted.
The question wasn't a spontaneous one. “For five years I’ve been wanting to ask him that,” Dáte tweeted.
“I’ve been in this business more than three decades, and what’s happening now is unprecedented,” Dáte wrote when he unsuccessfully campaigned to become president of the White House Correspondents’ Association.
“We are attacked on a near daily basis using Stalinist language. We are called corrupt and dishonest. We are given false information from staff who often know full well that it is false.”
Trump has made more than 20,000 false or misleading claims during his time in office, according to the Washington Post.
It is no secret that Trump doesn't like the press, attacking the veracity of reports criticizing his administration as "false news," and has even insulted and banned reporters who he feels are biased against him.
"And you know, some of my colleagues were not happy that I did that, because they fear, I think, that the general level of access might decrease if he thinks he’s going to get questions like that," Dáte told the Washingtonian. "But really, this is democracy, and democracy only works if we’re getting accurate information from those people. They work for us. They’re not doing us a favor by telling us what they’re doing. It’s kind of their job.
Trump has made more than 20,000 false or misleading claims during his time in office, according to the Washington Post.
It is no secret that Trump doesn't like the press, attacking the veracity of reports criticizing his administration as "false news," and has even insulted and banned reporters who he feels are biased against him.
"And you know, some of my colleagues were not happy that I did that, because they fear, I think, that the general level of access might decrease if he thinks he’s going to get questions like that," Dáte told the Washingtonian. "But really, this is democracy, and democracy only works if we’re getting accurate information from those people. They work for us. They’re not doing us a favor by telling us what they’re doing. It’s kind of their job.
EDITOR'S NOTE: A word of caution, this is news sprinkled with opinion. Readers are encouraged to seek multiple news sources to formulate their own positions.
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