WASHINGTON, D.C. (YBH.ME) – Video of the latest kerfuffle between Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and a reporter is making the rounds today. In the clip below, Gibbs compares reporter April Ryan of American Urban Radio to his son, at which point Ms. Ryan warns Gibbs, “Don’t play with me.”
The press secretary is coming under fire from a press that is increasingly becoming frustrated with Mr. Gibbs’ tone and his almost mocking manner when pressed on issues he doesn’t want to talk about.The row broke out when Ms. Ryan consistently pushed Mr. Gibbs to answer questions about Desiree Rogers and the “Crashergate” scandal. Some in the press are taken aback that three Secret Service members have been placed on leave and the gate crashers themselves are being investigated, while the White House is refusing to let Ms. Rogers testify before Congress.
After Ms. Ryan told Mr. Gibbs not to “play” with her, Gibbs said that there were more serious issues to discuss “like 98,000 men and women in Afghanistan.” Mr. Gibbs has a habit of reminding the press about serious issues after he downplays lines of questioning that he finds laborious.
