By Matt Gertz
Washington, D.C.-(ENEWSPF)- Mike Cernovich is an internet troll, conspiracy theorist, and leading figure in the alt-right assemblage of modern-day white nationalists and misogynists who has drawn praise and support from President Donald Trump’s closest confidantes. Today, he used a White House press pass to berate reporters at the daily briefing for not sufficiently covering “the violence against Trump supporters.”
Cernovich received a White House press pass last week, and he attended the briefing Friday and made a hand sign associated with white nationalists from the podium. Other “alt-right” media figures, including Rebel Media’s Lauren Southern and Gateway Pundit’s Jim Hoft and Lucian Wintrich, have also visited the press room during the Trump administration.
Cernovich returned to the White House for today’s press briefing. After press secretary Sean Spicer concluded taking questions from reporters, Cernovich shouted out, “What about violence against Trump supporters at Berkeley?” Ignored by Spicer, Cernovich began yelling at members of the White House press corps, repeatedly demanding to know why they purportedly refused to cover the story. At one point a member of the press corps asked him if he was a reporter; he responded that he was.
Once reporters stopped responding to his diatribe, Cernovich left the room. Here’s the video of the outburst, via his Periscope feed:
The White House’s practice of admitting a provocateur to hassle members of the press corps is part of the administration’s broader effort to undermine journalists by flooding press conferences and briefings with an array of pro-Trump sycophants and propagandists.
As close White House ally Newt Gingrich suggested in November, the White House press office has the power to “rethink from the ground up the whole concept of the White House press corps, come up with a totally new grass-roots model, and not allow the traditional media to dominate and define White House press coverage.”
Trump’s “alt-right” fans are more than willing to participate in this effort, in some cases openly acknowledging that they are seeking access to the press room so they can troll journalists.
Source: Media Matters