Matthew Alvarez, a host on the conservative RSBN network, was at a loss for words after President Donald Trump ordered the media out of a White House event with governors.
"Thank you very much," Trump said after stepping to the podium at the breakfast event with governors on Friday. "And I guess we're going to be asking the press to leave. That way, we're going to talk very candidly and take questions, I think, at the end. Was it supposed to be? I just said to Susie [Wiles], what about questions?"
"Sir, you can do whatever you want," Trump said, quoting his chief of staff. "I don't know if she says that to other people that she's represented over the years. But thank you very much for being here. It's a great honor. And the media, thank you. You can leave now."
The shock on Alvarez's face was apparent when the broadcast returned to the studio.
"All right, so, we were not expecting that," the host admitted. "I know you weren't expecting that either. So, this is what we'll do: we're going to go to a commercial break, we're going to kind of see what's going on."
"There again, this is way out of our hands. You saw the commander-in-chief saying the press can leave," he continued. "That's us. So, uh, all the cameras in there are going out the door. We originally thought that this breakfast with the governors from around the country and the speech there from the president would be live."
Alvarez urged his audience not to "be upset at the messenger."
"That's us again. Hello?" he remarked. "All of the media outlets, by the way, whether it's the fake news or other conservative media like us, there's no one doing this live because you just saw the president say exit stage left."
"Let's take a quick commercial."
