Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
President Barack Obama visited a café in Washington, DC with 2015 “Teacher of the Year” Shanna Peeples, and apparently expected go unrecognized.
Obama ordered TIME political reporter Zeke Miller to shut off his phone camera when he began live streaming the unexpected drop-in.
What happened next? The reporter actually did it!
It may just have been a trip to the café, but the precedent that this intimidation sets is dangerous. Obama can’t tell reporters how to do their jobs. He holds a public office, and was walking around in a public place. Reporters had every right to film the visit.
It’s no surprise that some members of the media refer to the Obama White House as the least transparent administration in history.
Perhaps the TIME reporter in question should take some notes on standing up to the President from this kid interviewer who recently cut Obama off short for rambling:
(Don’t worry kid. You just said what everybody else was thinking!)