Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s Wednesday speech on immigration in Phoenix was covered by a wide variety of state and local media outlets.
They were all credentialed and let in to the event as media. The University of Arizona’s Daily Wildcat, for some reason, was not.
Five previously approved reporters and photographers were ejected from the arena after they showed up, according to an account by Editor-in-Chief Sam Gross:
The Daily Wildcat’s original request to be credentialed for the event was denied, but after a call to Brian Seitchik, Trump’s Arizona state director, we felt confident that we’d get access. So we headed to Phoenix.
At the media check-in station, our plea with the campaign seemed to have prevailed, as all five of our names were on the list. …
So I can cross being thrown out of a @realDonaldTrump off my journalistic bucket list. #trumpaz Maybe the least exciting toss out, too
— Sam Gross (@samzgross) August 31, 2016
We made our way through the Phoenix Convention Center and headed toward the press pit at the back of the roughly one-third full venue, until we were stopped by Kathryn Wellner, a communications coordinator for the Trump campaign. She wanted our credentials.
According to Wellner, we were never supposed to be let in the building, despite our apparent inclusion on the list of approved media. The only reason she gave was a quick, “Well, you’re not on my list,” and an explanation that the decision was “out of her hands.”
Gross doesn’t think this was payback by the Trump campaign for unflattering coverage, but rather not being “worth the time or effort” for the campaign to resolve why the Daily was one list (the important one: getting through Secret Service) but not the other.
Trump campaign's #Phoenix rep denying entry to previously credentialed @dailywildcat reporter @rnoblephoto #TrumpAZ pic.twitter.com/xFwe2RQlTd
— Rebekah Zemansky 🌿 (@RebekahZemansky) September 1, 2016
He and photographer Rebecca Noble were able to cover a bit of the speech when they went back through the line with the general public, sans their (previously granted) media credentials.
The unintended effect, as the Student Press Law Center noted, was much bigger coverage of the protesters outside the venue. Trump nudity continues to be popular for some reason.
Genius Trump campaign move; throw out college journalists = more coverage for anti-Trump protests outside. https://t.co/MedKirPiMB
— Student Press Law Center (@SPLC) September 1, 2016
Matthew Gramlich, a Trump supporter, gets in an altercation with protesters oitside the #Trumpaz rally pic.twitter.com/79A9rkWfqJ
— Sam Gross (@samzgross) September 1, 2016
More protestors just rolled up with some more "Dump Trump" themed signs #TrumpAZ @dailywildcat pic.twitter.com/ZrR4NelKfh
— brenna 👽 (@brennanonymous) September 1, 2016
Brandon Marsala: "He's our assclown-in-chief." #trumpaz @dailywildcat pic.twitter.com/uOpBYsOBOi
— Sam Gross (@samzgross) September 1, 2016
.@alexmcintyre520 and @rnoblephoto took cool photos at #TrumpAZ yesterday. Check them out: https://t.co/HbkrOL7zAj pic.twitter.com/zP06EII5zP
— Daily Wildcat (@dailywildcat) September 1, 2016
To see more of what the Daily Wildcat captured after its ejection, check out its Storify tweet feed.
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