Trump’s Standoff With White House Reporters, and the Rise and Fall of ‘Pervert Glasses’

The fallout from President Trump’s standoff with the White House press corps played out in surreal fashion last night in Washington. The five major networks that make up the White House TV pool continued their boycott in solidarity with reporters Trump has banned, meaning the cameras that would normally capture a state dinner were turned off. A judge blocked Trump’s ban yesterday, but some journalists still had trouble getting access, and the White House has not formally agreed to let CNN back into pool coverage. The result was a slightly bizarre scene: American journalists blocked from entering the White House while Trump appeared to joke with Chinese leader Xi Jinping about how China had the friendliest press corps.

Trump and Xi: Pomp Over Policy

The state dinner itself was less about substance and more about spectacle. Trump said he had “never gotten along better” with the Chinese leader, even as the two countries face deep divides over artificial intelligence, Taiwan, and trade. The Trump administration announced an extension of a trade truce between China and the U.S. earlier this week, but Xi’s visit was dominated by lavish ceremonies, military flyovers, and gift exchanges. Trump gave Xi a statue of a bald eagle, and Xi said China would send two more pandas to a U.S. zoo.