White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre demanded order in the briefing room on Tuesday after New York Post reporter Steven Nelson shouted questions at Dr. Anthony Fauci.
During what was billed as Fauci's last White House Covid-19 briefing, Nelson shouted a question without being called on. Nelson was following questioner from the Daily Caller who wanted to know what Fauci personally did to investigate the origins of the pandemic.
"We have a process here," Jean-Pierre interrupted. "I'm not calling on people who yell and you're being disrespectful to your colleagues and you're being disrespectful to our guest. I will not call on you if you yell and also you're taking time off the clock because Dr. Fauci has to leave in a couple of minutes."
"I'm done!" the press secretary exclaimed to shut down the reporter's objection. "I'm not getting into a back-and-forth with you."
Africa Today's Simon Ateba refused to let Jean-Pierre move on to another topic.
"Dr. Fauci is the best person to answer that question!" Ateba yelled.
"I hear the question!" Jean-Pierre shouted back. "But we're not doing this the way you want it! This is disrespectful. I'm done. Simon, I'm done. I'm done with you right now."
Update (11/23/22): In an email to Raw Story, Nelson clarified that Daily Caller correspondent Diana Glebova asked the initial question about what Fauci had done to investigate the origins of Covid-19.
"I attempted to make use of the opening, including to ask a followup about continued EcoHealth Alliance funding," Nelson explained.
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