Hosts on the show “The View,” went absolutely nuts, over reports that President Trump had banned the American media from covering his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislak, in the Oval Office. They called his act as “treason.”
The meeting was held in the Oval Office and not a single US media outlet was allowed to cover the meeting. However, some reports revealed that a Russian photographer was allowed to take pictures for Russian state news agencies.
CNN reported that the meeting was set up to emphasize the necessity for the US and Russia to combine forces to end violence in Syria and Ukraine. It is was also reported that the meeting “floated the prospect” of a US-Russia coalition to resolve Middle Eastern conflicts.
The show’s co-host Joy Behar called out on Trump. “He’s speaking to the Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and Ambassador Kislyak — who’s the one who Michael Flynn got fired for talking to him about possibly talking about sanctions,” talking about the meeting, Behar added. “And in the room, here’s Trump talking to the Russians and the Russian press is there covering … and guess who’s missing from the room? The American press.”
“They were barred from the room,” Behar continued. “All I’m saying in this lengthy speech, which I hate to give, is that this is treason to me. This is un-American, un-patriotic. Americans should be furious. Furious. This is the American press being left out … it hurts my feelings, frankly.”
New York Times on the other hand, called the meeting as a “public relations coup,” and wrote:
“The result was a public relations coup of sorts for Russia and Mr. Lavrov in particular, who not only received a collegial Oval Office welcome from the president, but the photographic evidence to prove it. By contrast, when Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson traveled to Moscow last month, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia kept him waiting for hours before granting him an audience at the Kremlin. Then, too, Mr. Tillerson left his American press contingent behind.”
