Trump Cabinet member’s security caught on camera getting physical with TMZ reporter

A member of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s security detail got physical with a TMZ DC reporter who tried to ask Burgum a question at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Monday, according to TMZ.

TMZ says its reporter, identified as Charlie, approached Burgum in the morning hoping to ask about President Trump, but the encounter became physical when a security officer interfered. In TMZ’s video, Charlie can be heard saying, “Please don’t touch me, sir,” and "you're banging into me," as the officer repeatedly got in his way.

TMZ says Charlie made clear he wasn’t trying to block Burgum’s path or pose a threat.

After going back and forth with the security officer, Charlie got his question out, TMZ says. He asked whether Burgum thought Trump would become an ineffective lame-duck president after the midterm results. TMZ reports Burgum didn’t answer, and that the unwanted contact from the security officer continued after the question.

TMZ describes the incident as a reporter simply trying to ask a Cabinet member a question at an airport, not a breach of national security. It says Burgum’s security detail getting so physical “said a ton.”

People in Trump's orbit have routinely been in incidents where reporters got manhandled. In one of the most famous cases, former Trump campaign strategist Corey Lewandowski got rough with conservative reporter Michelle Fields. This led to battery charges, although these were eventually dropped.