NEW —> White House bans four journalists from covering Trump-Kim dinner because of shouted questions.

My latest from Hanoi with @jdawsey1 on the White House restricting free press as a dictator looks onhttps://t.co/ydRhV3BxIG

— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) February 27, 2019

Past US presidents and their aides who didn’t quite love the press corps also understood the importance of upholding the notion of a free press, particularly in the presence of a dictator. https://t.co/7IeX3lPVJf

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) February 27, 2019

To be clear, the reporters are being excluded by an official from the US government, not foreign officials, in one of the more outrageous moves by this White House. https://t.co/jsTmOyDaY0

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) February 27, 2019

It appears wire reporters @JonLemire & @jeffmason1 were punished for asking questions — which is their job — during Trump’s first availability with Kim Jong Un. They were cut out of the pool covering Trump-Kim dinner “due to the sensitive nature of the meeting,” per Sarah Sanders

— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) February 27, 2019

While the WH punished reporters for asking Trump questions, Trump reveled in the attention of the print photographers allowed into the dinner spray, asking Doug Mills to send him photos so he could share them with Kim.

— Eli Stokols (@EliStokols) February 27, 2019

The WH is suggesting this was about North Korea, but President Trump was the person getting questions he didn’t like. Amazing that the WH would try to mimic an autocratic press environment in which only pictures, not questions are allowed of the President of the United States. https://t.co/ehAwFvhFtF

— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) February 27, 2019

North Korean reporters were allowed in the Trump-KJU dinner tonight. US print reporters were blocked by the White House after shouted questions at an earlier event. Needless to say, the North Korean reporters do not shout questions.

— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) February 27, 2019