White House promises to push for more US press access in Asia

White House officials are pushing for more access for U.S. journalists at an east Asia summit after press pool journalists were shut out during previous stops on President Trump’s Asia trip.

A White House pool report Saturday morning stated that journalists had raised concerns after being limited to “one TV camera, one still photographer, and one print pooler” for Saturday’s coverage of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Vietnam.

Trump met with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte for the first time on Saturday at the summit, but press from America and other countries were heavily limited from events.

Trump also did not take questions during a media appearance with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, at the request of Chinese officials.

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According to a pool report, the White House claimed to be unaware press access at the summit would be so limited, and is actively seeking for it to be expanded at Sunday’s events in Manila.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders “knew access at [the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit] would be limited, but did not realize it would be that limited,” the report stated. “She also noted, however, that the U.S. had one more slot than any other country had.”

“Last night, the only reason a TV pre-set camera was allowed in was because the White House said the pool (TV) camera was their official White House camera,” the report added.

The report also said that the Trump administration would try to secure more slots for press poolers during Sunday’s events.

“She has already alerted the advance team in Manila, and they’re aggressively pushing for more access,” the report states.

Trump will head to Manila tomorrow for the last leg of his 12-day trip to Asia, his longest trip abroad so far as president.