The relationship between the press and the United States administration has been frosty, to say the least. press secretary Sean Spicer is definitely not helping matters, though. On Tuesday, he prompted a heated confrontation with one of the members of press, April Ryan, who he scolded for shaking her head as he tried to justify comments she found to be unjustifiable.
Awkward confrontation
When Ryan began her question during Tuesday's press conference, she was searching for an unvarnished truth. She clearly wanted to challenge the administration and the way they present factual information.
Clearly, she had a mission with her line of questioning - that's part of the job description, though. Spicer's job as press secretary doesn't call for undressing reporters for asking the hard-hitting questions.
Ryan wasn't receiving what she believed to be a suitable answer. As she tuned in to Spicer, she shook her head in disapproval. The press secretary didn't like that and began scolding her for shaking her head instead of listening to what he had to say. The veteran reporter looked shocked, to say the least, as did many of the press corps around her who are fed up with being mistreated by the administration.
Tension rising
Race and gender can not be ignored in this incident. The news of the Spicer-Ryan confrontation broke around the same time as FOX correspondent Bill O'Reilly was bringing down Maxine Waters, a congressional representative, saying that he was focusing less on her speech and more on her "wig." O'Reilly is a white male, while Waters is a black female.
The tension between the press and the administration seemed to be dipping a bit after starting at an all-time high in January. There is an extremely damaged relationship between the two entities, which a republic thrives off of. President Donald Trump has even pulled himself from the traditional White House Correspondents Dinner. The dust-up between Spicer and Ryan was not the first, and in all likelihood, it will not be the last.