Former White House deputy assistant Sebastian Gorka got into a verbal confrontation with CNN political analyst Brian Karem on Wednesday, but it took two videos to tell the whole story.
New York Times White House correspondent Katie Rogers captured footage of the exchange’s end, which occurred directly after President Donald Trump’s social media summit.
POTUS leaves without taking questions. “Talk to us! The real news!” Then this mess unfolded with Sebastian Gorka yelling at a journalist. Supporter say Gorka could “kick your punk ass.” This is happening in the Rose Garden. pic.twitter.com/FmE4KYT9eO
— Katie Rogers (@katierogers) July 11, 2019
“You’re a joke, not a journalist. You’re a punk!” Gorka told Karem.
The crowd cheered “Gor-ka! Gor-ka!” as he walks away.
MSNBC producer Nick Ramsey posted a picture of the Salem radio host via Twitter:
… “these dreams go on when I close my eyes,
every second of the night i live another life!” pic.twitter.com/O29draqWni— fake nick ramsey (@nick_ramsey) July 11, 2019
A woman can be heard saying “You should not be attacking journalists like this” while a man tells Karem: “For the record, he’d kick your punk ass!”
Meanwhile, Trump-supporting singer Joy Villa can be seen telling the media, “Fake news is over, be real journalists.”
While the latter portion of the exchange was quickly all over social media on Thursday, Jim Hanson posted what led to it, Karem taunting attendees because he was unhappy about seating arrangements.
After the #SocialMediaSummit @realDonaldTrump invited the conservative influencers to the Rose Garden for his press conf
We got the nice seats & I guess “journalist” @BrianKarem was sad
He tried to pick a fight w/ @SebGorka & then thought betterMy $$$ was on Seb as I note pic.twitter.com/yXfJfOKaZT
— Jim Hanson (@Uncle_Jimbo) July 11, 2019
“Don’t be sad, don’t be sad,” someone told Karem, who said in response before pretending to salute: “No I’m just standing around. This is a group of people that are eager for demonic possession.”
Then, Gorka could be heard shouting, “And you’re a journalist, right?” (RELATED: Sebastian Gorka: ‘Violence Against Those You Politically Disagree With Is Okay’ With Democrats)
“Come on over here and talk to me, brother. We can go outside and have a long conversation,” Karem told Gorka.
“Hey Gorka, get a job,” Karem shouted after Gorka came over and called him a “punk.”
Gorka reacted to the confrontation in a statement to the Daily Caller:
“The days when the FAKE NEWS class believes they can get away with insulting America are over,” he said. “Brian Karem is a washed up has-been who allegedly writes for a soft-porn magazine and who verbally abused Sarah Huckabee Sanders for years. Someone had to take him on.”
Gorka posted a video on Twitter calling the “fake news” media “punks and political saboteurs.”
Nothing like getting a member of the FAKENEWS challenge you to a fight when you’re both standing in the Rose Garden of the @WhiteHouse.
These people are not journalists.
They’re punks and political saboteurs.
FYI: @Uncle_Jimbo has the WHOLE thing on video. pic.twitter.com/GILlRt0Suj
— Sebastian Gorka DrG (@SebGorka) July 11, 2019
Meanwhile, CNN’s Jim Acosta portrayed the confrontation as “a good snapshot of how press is treated” by the White House:
WH officials invited Trump’s social media allies to sit in the Rose Garden. But after the event was over, West Wing aides did nothing when those social media figures began to verbally abuse reporters who were trying to do their jobs. A good snapshot of how press is treated by WH. https://t.co/j0Ys542dok
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) July 11, 2019