WASHINGTON — Former Deputy Assistant to the President Dr. Sebastian Gorka and Brian Karem, White House reporter for Playboy, got into a shouting match in the Rose Garden at the White House on Thursday.
Trump had tweeted that the Rose Garden event would be a press conference but he did not take questions from reporters on-site.
“The White House will be hosting a very big and very important Social Media Summit today. Would I have become President without Social Media? Yes (probably)! At its conclusion, we will all go to the beautiful Rose Garden for a News Conference on the Census and Citizenship,” Trump wrote Thursday on Twitter.
Many of the guests at the president’s announcement on the census citizenship question were conservative activists who had attended the White House Social Media Summit beforehand. Karem and other reporters were shouting questions as Trump left the event.
“Don’t be sad,” a guest shouted to Karem.
In response, Karem said the attendees were a group of people “eager for demonic possession.”
Gorka heard Karem’s comment and responded, saying, “And you’re a journalist, right?”
Karem replied, “Come over here and talk to me brother, we can go outside and have a long conversation.”
“You’re threatening me in the Rose Garden?” Gorka replied. “You’re a punk. You’re not a journalist. You’re a punk.”
Karem responded, “Go home. Hey, Gorka, get a job.”
As guests and the media left the Rose Garden, Karem attempted to shake Gorka’s hand but Gorka told him, “you’re done.”
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