White House press briefings in the Trump era have taken on an entirely new tone. While, at certain points, the press has been tough on past administrations, the relationship between the two bodies has generally been one of respect—or at the very least, of mutual necessity. As we’ve been witnessing for the last six months, this is not so with the Trump administration. This gang absolutely hates the media asking them critical questions or holding them accountable (hence the moniker “fake news”). They love to make demonizing the news a national pastime and they don’t care who knows it. And it’s working for them. To their credit, their base absolutely adores it.
However, no one White House reporter seems to have incurred the administration’s wrath quite like April Ryan, the bureau chief for American Urban Radio Networks. Their obsession with attacking her is both bizarre and incredibly inappropriate. And it’s been impossible not to notice because it occurs regularly on live TV.
Ryan serves as one of just seven or so black White House press correspondents among approximately 53 reporters at a time when the White House has increasingly declared war on minority communities, with frequent arrests of immigrants, a travel ban against Muslim-majority nations, vows to increase police presence in largely black communities and other aggressions.
One theory here is that, through their interactions with Ryan, Trump’s team is sending a very clear message to black people and other people of color that white supremacy is in full effect in this White House and that these powerful white people can do whatever they want, consequences be damned. Therefore, they aren’t to be questioned or mocked in any way. This is not new. White supremacy has thrived by forcing people of color into submission. But Ryan isn’t intimidated and she’s not backing down.
The Trump administration was at it again on Tuesday, as acting-Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders critiqued the way Ryan called on her to ask a question. The two shared an uncomfortable moment when Sanders suggested Ryan wasn’t being polite enough. A clip of the moment quickly went viral on social media, with some critics pointing to the nation's long history of forcing black people in America to speak to white people in restrained dialogue under the threat of violence or other consequences. [...]
"They thought they could pick me because I’m ‘a little black woman from a little specialty media, a little black network,'" Ryan added. "But they didn’t realize that black woman is strong, she is almost half a century old and she’s been here, done that, got a t-shirt, folded it and washed it. And folks got my back."
Yet, in a interview on CNN commentator Angela Rye’s podcast On 1 with A. Rye, Ryan suggests that the real reason the Trump administration is laser-focused on her actually has to do with her former friendship with Trump sycophant and director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison, Omarosa Manigault. The two had known each other for years but began to drift apart after Manigault began campaigning for Trump. At that time, according to Ryan, Team Trump was not at all happy with their friendship and was actively looking for ways to discredit her. This led to an epic showdown in the White House in February.
Ryan described a confrontation that occurred between her and Manigault in the White House where, according to Ryan, Manigault spread a rumor that Ryan had taken money from Hillary Clinton's campaign.
"So, they were chastising her about our friendship. So, she was finding a way to break the friendship off," Ryan said in regard to the confrontation. "She was screaming at the top of her lungs. It was almost as if she wanted the president to hear. Not only that, she taped it and edited the tape."
Ryan said that Manigault sent those edited tapes of 20-30 minutes of arguing to Fox News White House correspondent John Roberts.
"I embarrassed her in front of reporters and people in that office … I made mincemeat of her," Ryan said on the podcast.
This shouldn’t surprise us. There is nothing more that Trump loves than drama. And since he has an obsession with loyalty and revenge, it’s incredibly easy to imagine him asking Omarosa to prove his loyalty by doing whatever she can to throw April under the bus and make life miserable for her. He may very well want to get rid of her and all signs point to this. Only this will likely not work out so well for him. Though April Ryan is with a relatively small media outlet, she’s been covering the White House for over 20 years. She has an audience of millions and is also a CNN contributor. She is known for her integrity and is well-liked and respected among her peers. And given how Trump’s team has waged their own war against the media at-large, the scrutiny with regard to how they treat reporters will only increase over time. The whole world is watching. Trump and friends may be in the White House for now, but it’s a sure bet that April Ryan will outlast them.