On the Fox News Channel’s “Hannity” on Monday night during “The Great American Panel” segment, The Daily Caller’s editor-in-chief Tucker Carlson offered an on-camera explanation for the events that transpired on Friday at the Rose Garden involving TheDC’s White House correspondent Neil Munro.
According to Carlson, Munro was being aggressive only to get answers from the administration.
“A reporter’s job is to find out what’s happening,” Carlson said. “It’s about what your government is doing. It’s to ask questions to politicians and almost no politicians want to answer those questions.”
Hannity said he doubted Munro’s explanation for interrupting the president, which was that he had mistimed his question. Carlson dismissed that criticism.
“We can argue about how he asked it, what venue he asked it in, but the bottom line is, what he is doing is what a lot of people who cover the White House aren’t doing, which is pressing for answers to his question,” Carlson said. “It’s an etiquette question, but it’s not the core question. The core question is — is the White House press corps is not holding the president accountable for his policies and getting answers the public wants? And Neil Munro is.”
Carlson then pointed to other instances when President Barack Obama had been interrupted in the past and argued that a double standard was in play.
However, Fox News contributor Bob Beckel, one of a handful of the network’s stand-in liberals, disapproved of TheDC’s presence in the White House press pool and lashed out at Munro.
BECKEL: Did you spend the whole afternoon at Starbucks? I’m just curious. OK, can you answer me — is this guy an American citizen?
CARLSON: Is Neil Munro an American? Look, I’m not going to stand here and let you throw your anti-Irish bigotry, again. If I have to stand up and defend immigrants from you, I will.
BECKEL: OK, I appreciate that, but I still want you to answer my question. Is he an American citizen?
CARLSON: Of course he is an American, and a proud one.
BECKEL: OK, I’m glad to hear that. But if I’m the White House, here’s where the White House [has made a] mistake. The idea that they gave The Daily Caller a White House pass is the craziest idea I’ve ever heard.
CARLSON: We’re bigger than the Chicago Tribune. We’re bigger than the Boston Globe. They can’t not give us a pass.
BECKEL: Sure they can. All they got to do is not give it to you.
CARLSON: Good luck with that.
