Mike Pence Signals Journalist Ban Could Loosen

Vice presidential candidate Gov Mike Pence (R-IN) has signaled that the campaign may lighten up on its policy of excluding some news outlets from events due to their past coverage. Donald Trump banned the Washington Post from official campaign events after stories he did not like and has done the same in the past with BuzzFeed, Politico and Univision. But in an interview with conservative syndicated radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt recently, Gov Pence signaled there could be some movement on that front, though he made no promises.

Hewitt said he had an issue with barring some reporters from the Trump campaign. "I’ve argued about this with Mr. Trump," Hewitt told Gov Pence. "It’s not in the American tradition. Will you argue with him to lift that ban, because reporters are part of the game. And we shouldn’t ban, Republicans should not be afraid of reporters. Will you do that?" "We’re all talking about that," responded Gov Pence. "I had a long, I have a long history, as you well know, Hugh, of advocating and defending for a free and independent press." Gov Pence, a former Indiana congressman, pointed out that he had authored legislation creating a national shield law to protect reporters. "So we’re going to have those conversations internally," he said, "and I fully expect in the next 100 days, we’re going to continue to be available to the media, whether they’re fair or unfair, and we’re going to take our case to the American people directly."