Trump Bans the Washington Post from his Future Events

Presumptive Republican Nominee Donald Trump has ordered that the press credentials of all Washington Post reporters be revoked. Political campaigns do control who gets credentialed as reporters at campaign events, though presumably one could always attend as a participant.

"Donald Trump Suggests Pres. Obama Was Involved with Orlando Shooting" headline was the last straw, apparently, that broke the proverbial camels back. The Washington Post later softened its headline, saying Trump seemed to connect President Barrack Obama to the shooting.

Trump campaign spokeswoman Katrina Pierson said the original headline, is an example of "a failing Washington Post putting clickbait online. Mr. Trump's point, she explained, was that Pres. Obama won't refuses to say "'Radical Islam terrorism,' just after we have Americans butchered. He refuses to even call it what it is. So when DT says "There's something going on," that's what he means," she explained.

"If this were the first time he said it, I'd give him the benefit of a doubt," said a Clinton campaign official. "But Trump has been suggesting that this President is a Manchurian candidate and a Muslim since 2010. Only Putin bans public outlets like the Washington Post."

The Washington Post is the largest circulation daily newspaper in the U.S. Capitol city. It was reported in April that the Post had assigned a full time pool of 8 reporters, to take down the Donald. Says Paul Farhi (a high school friend of mine) in the Post itself:

Donald Trump said Monday that he is pulling The Washington Post's credentials to cover his events because he is upset with the newspaper's coverage of his campaign. The move puts the newspaper on a long list of media outlets that the presumptive Republican nominee has banned for reporting that displeased him.

"Based on the incredibly inaccurate coverage and reporting of the record setting Trump campaign, we are hereby revoking the press credentials of the phony and dishonest Washington Post," read a post on Trump's Facebook page.

Another post said, "I am no fan of President Obama, but to show you how dishonest the phony Washington Post is, they wrote, 'Donald Trump suggests President Obama was involved with Orlando shooting' as their headline. Sad!"

Trump was referring to an article that posted online Monday morning that was headlined, "Donald Trump seems to connect President Obama to Orlando shooting." The article was the most-read on The Post's website at the time. Its original headline, which Trump accurately cited in his Facebook post, was changed about 90 minutes later. The newspaper changed it on its own, before Trump's complaint.

Post editors were unsure Monday evening what Trump's ban entailed. Editors learned of it from Facebook and have had no contact with Trump or his campaign aides.

In a statement, Post Executive Editor Martin Baron said: "Donald Trump's decision to revoke The Washington Post's press credentials is nothing less than a repudiation of the role of a free and independent press. When coverage doesn't correspond to what the candidate wants it to be, then a news organization is banished.

"The Post will continue to cover Donald Trump as it has all along - honorably, honestly, accurately, energetically and unflinchingly," Baron continued. "We're proud of our coverage, and we're going to keep at it."

Trump has criticized The Post a number of times during the campaign. In a TV interview last month, he accused Amazon founder Jeffrey P. Bezos of using his ownership of The Post to deflect scrutiny of Amazon's taxes and suggested he would launch an antitrust investigation of Amazon if he becomes president. Bezos denied Trump's claims and said the comments weren't true.