President Donald Trump and his campaign visited Freeland, Michigan on Thursday for a rally where he spoke at length about former vice president Joe Biden, auto manufacturing, antifa, the suburbs, and the media. His campaign also ejected a New York Times reporter from the event, seemingly without explanation.
Kathy Gray, a Times correspondent who lives in Michigan, tweeted, “And so it begins” with a picture of Air Force One arriving. Thirteen minutes later, she wrote, “I’ve just been kicked out of the trump rally.” She added 19 minutes later, “First for me: Trump campaign tracked me down from pics i tweeted and escorted me out.” Gray’s Twitter bio identifies her as a former political reporter for The Detroit Free Press.
Danielle Rhoades Ha, vice president of communications for the Times, said in a statement, “We're disappointed that the Trump campaign refused to credential our freelancer and then, when she registered and attended as a member of the public, they ejected her from the event. Our goal is to cover these campaign events and talk to voters about the candidates, and that's what Kathy was trying to do.”
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The Commander in Chief has gone after the Times repeatedly during his presidency, calling the paper “failing” and “the Enemy of the People,” saying that he was “entitled” to positive coverage, and even encouraging Sean Hannity to bash the publication on his Fox News show.
Gray and the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
