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Obama Immigration Speech: Reporter Interrupts, Heckles President During Remarks (VIDEO)
The Huffington Post | By Rebecca Shapiro, Michael Calderone And Katherine Fung
Posted: 06/15/2012 2:37 pm Updated: 06/15/2012 3:08 pm


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FOLLOW:Barack Obama , Video, DREAM Act, Daily Caller, Neil Munro Daily Caller, Neil Munro Obama,DREAM Act, Latino Politics, Obama Immigration Remarks, President Obama Immigration, Media News

President Obama was heckled by a reporterduring his immigration remarks on Friday.

Obama announced that the Department of Homeland Security will stop deportations and grant work permits for students who meet certain requirements. The policy change will apply to those who arrived in the U.S. before turning 16, who have been in the country for at least five years, and are under the age of 30.

During his remarks, Obama suddenly addressed a person in the crowd, telling him that he was not yet taking questions. "Excuse me, sir, it's not time for questions, sir," Obama said. "Not while I'm speaking."

At the end of his speech, Obama referred back to the person who interrupted him. "And the answer to your question is sir, and the next time I prefer you let me finish my statements before you ask that question, is this is the right thing to do for the American people...I didn't ask for an argument. I'm answering your question," he said, speaking over Munro's protests. "It is the right thing to do for the American people."

The camera flashed to a man in a suit wearing sunglasses. ABC's Diane Sawyer, who was anchoring the network's breaking news coverage with George Stephanopoulos, described the man who interrupted Obama as "clearly considered a heckler." Former George W. Bush spokesman Tony Fratto tweeted, "Reporters don't interrupt presidential statements. Period. @NeilMunroDC should be banned from WH. #fb."

The man was later identified as The Daily Caller's Neil Munro, who wrote about the news of Obama's announcement on Friday.

In his piece, Munro wrote, "President Barack Obama is using his control over government agencies to establish a semi-amnesty for younger illegal immigrants, even though the nation’s youth unemployment rate is already at a record level."


According to the site's masthead, Munro is the White House correspondent at The Daily Caller.

Tucker Carlson, co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Daily Caller, defended Munro in an interview with the The Huffington Post's Michael Calderone shortly after the incident.

"This is what reporters are supposed to do," Carlson said by phone. "They're supposed to get their questions answered."

"It's hard to know what's wrong with asking the president a question," he continued.

When told that ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer referred to Munro as a "heckler," Carlson said he "doesn't remember anyone saying that about Sam Donaldson," the aggressive former ABC News White House correspondent. Carlson suggested Sawyer would probably describe Donaldson as "being a tough reporter."

"Politicians don’t get to make a statement and then retreat to a fortified castle," Carlson said, adding that "our job is to find out what's going on with federal government on our time-table."

As for those criticizing Munro for interrupting Obama, Carlson responded that the Daily Caller's "critics ought to make it official and take a gig at the White House."


Eric D. Schwerin
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