Bloomberg Politics reporter Jennifer Epstein unleashed a pretty epic tweetstorm at Hillary Clinton and her running mate Tim Kaine over how they’ve both been treating the press:
Put aside Trump & press for a second. Clinton (&Kaine) haven't been doing what every other nominee in recent history has: fly with press 1/
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) September 1, 2016
Epstein is focusing on how the campaign is treating the pool reporters who are supposed to follow the candidates around everywhere they go:
Protective pool of a dozen reporters & photogs is supposed to keep watch. In part to have eyes on the candidate if something bad happens. 2/
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) September 1, 2016
Clinton promised she’d give the pool this access, but that was a lie:
Clinton camp had promised this right after the convention & has taken its time as Trump has made clear he won't be following the rules 3/
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) September 1, 2016
Kaine is lying about it, too:
And now Sen. Kaine is saying separate planes is typical until late into the race. It's not. See HRC & Obama '08, or Bernie & some GOP 4/
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) September 1, 2016
And it’s important that the press is there just to watch what’s going on, even if the candidates dodge questions:
I'm not talking about necessarily getting to ask her Qs. But pressure for that is higher & harder to avoid if press is w her all the time 5/
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) September 1, 2016
Epstein also notes that team Hillary is using Trump as a shield to avoid the press:
Her team insists that she is playing by rules that Trump ignores. NOT saying it's the same as tax returns or other Trump disclosures /6
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) September 1, 2016
but it is using Trump as a shield to not follow convention. 7/
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) September 1, 2016
Hmm … why doesn’t Hillary want the press to see her at the end of the day?
We're asking for things like landing at midnight in White Plains & going to Chappaqua to see she gets home safely & then go back to WP 8/
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) September 1, 2016
Have been getting a lot of Qs on #8. This is standard for coverage of POTUS and nominees. Press in motorcade for every movement.
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) September 1, 2016
More from Epstein:
Of course we all want to ask our own Qs of her but my tweets aren't about that. They're about sticking to precedent w potential next potus.
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) September 1, 2016
Clinton supporters will be defensive or say what about Trump (especially tax returns). Fine. There are still relevant HRC issues to air. /10
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) September 1, 2016
Well said.
But before Trump fans gloat too much here, he’s doing the same thing:
As RNC's @rajshah84 retweets me, I should remind Trump has indicated he will never have a protective pool. No higher ground for GOP here.
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) September 1, 2016
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