Trump Says China Has the ‘Friendliest Press Corp’ Amid His Own Media Ban Chaos

President Donald Trump praised the Chinese press corp as the “friendliest” amid chaos surrounding his trying to ban MS NOW, CNN, and Politico from the White House.

During a session with still photographers and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House, Trump “made a joke about how the Chinese had the friendliest press corps,” according to a White House press pool report.

Trump has been facing a press pool boycott from networks that have stood in solidarity with CNN, MS NOW, and Politico since Trump announced he was booting them from the White House. After the ban was put in place — for publishing “fake news,” according to the president — the outlets sued and won and a temporary restraining order against Trump’s ban.

The judge’s order dropped on Wednesday evening, but reporters were still denied access on Thursday morning. Around noon, all of them reporting their journalists had regained access. The administration claimed in a court filing that they gave access back to the journalists in the 9 a.m. hour, though there has been no explanation for that delay in time.

CNN senior White House reporter Betsy Klein reported on Trump praising the press corp from communist China shortly after she’d regained her White House credentials.

Klein said:

I want to just note to you, the president was given a photo op with leader XI with just still photographers, other cameras. It was called a spray, a brief photo opportunity.

During that spray. The president, according to a pool report, made a joke about how the Chinese had the friendliest press corps. And this also comes after principal deputy press secretary Taylor Rogers was asked in an interview with Spectrum News just yesterday, prior to the judge’s ruling here, whether there was any symbolism to the U.S. press corps being banned during the visit of China’s leader. She said there is no comparison, and went on to say in her words, that President Trump is holding the fake news accountable.

Watch above via CNN.

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