A high school intern with the conservative Daily Caller is already on White House Press Secretary Jay Carney's bad side after asking if the White House plans to protect George Zimmerman and his family amid the multiple death threats they have received following his acquittal on murder and manslaughter charges in the death of Trayvon Martin.
“Because of the death threats being received by George Zimmerman and his parents, is the president going to take any action for their security or are they on their own?” the intern, Gabe Finger, asked.
Carney at first humored the high school student, referring him to local law enforcement in Florida. Carney said he had not heard of the reports about death threats against Zimmerman and his family.
“So they’re on their own?” Finger pressed.
“You can editorialize all you want and I have no doubt that you will, but that is a ridiculous statement,” an annoyed Carney shot back.
To be fair, the question was seemingly based on a false choice -- that the White House is either going to protect Zimmerman and his family or leave them "on their own." Further, the White House offering protection to a private citizen and his family would be unusual in a case like this (local law enforcement would provide necessary protection). But did Carney really need to lash out in such a condescending manner to any reporter? Most would probably say no.
Finger, a rising junior at the Potomac School in McLean, Va., later addressed his interaction with Carney on Twitter:
[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/GabeemtheFinger/status/357565848661135362"]
"It’s not common for a teenager to get into the briefing room, much less to get a question answered. Carney did not appear to know who Finger was; he interrupted the intern part-way through his question to ask for his press affiliation," the Washington Post explains.
[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/GabeemtheFinger/status/357580020241268740"]
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UPDATE: The Daily Caller's Tucker Carlson and Neil Patel have released the following statement on the exchange...accompanied by a Whitney Houston music video.
Some reporters in Washington are asking why The Daily Caller sent our intern Gabe Finger to the White House press briefing this afternoon. Talk about missing the point. The real question is, why did it take a 16-year-old intern to raise an obvious and important question that the White House press corps should have asked days ago? We don’t care how old Gabe Finger is. It doesn’t matter to us what his credentials are. All we care about is how well he does his job. Today he did it a lot better than most White House reporters."[We] believe the children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be
-Whitney Houston"
Here is the accompanying music video:
This story has been updated.
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