Donald Trump’s vice presidential running mate said Friday that Trump’s campaign is having “internal” discussions about its ban on certain media groups, and predicted that Trump would generally be available to the press despite these bans.
Speaking to radio host Hugh Hewitt on Friday morning, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence cited his history of standing up for the media as a way to defend the campaign from attacks that it’s been unfair to the press.
“We’re going to have those conversations internally and I fully expect in the next 100 days we’re going to continue to be available to the media, whether they’re fair or unfair,” Pence said.
Trump has banned various outlets from covering his events due to what he deems unfair coverage, including the Washington Post, Politico and others. CNN’s “New Day” anchor Chris Cuomo revealed Friday that he and his show are the latest victims of the Trump blacklist.
“I’m blacklisted by Donald Trump and his whole campaign. They won’t come on because of how we conduct our interviews,” Cuomo said Friday morning.
Hewitt called the media blacklist “a big criticism” he has toward the Trump-Pence ticket.
“It’s not in the American tradition. Will you argue with him to lift that ban, because reporters are part of the game. And we shouldn’t ban, Republicans should not be afraid of reporters. Will you do that?” Hewitt asked.
“We’re all talking about that,” Pence said, adding that he championed legislation protecting journalists and their right to source confidentiality.
