Neil Munro, White House correspondent at online news organization The Daily Caller, broke with protocol to interrupt President Obama during a Friday morning press briefing about immigration reform.
A statement released by the Caller claimed Munro wasn't trying to heckle the president, but rather was trying to time his question to arrive at the end of Obama's remarks.
But what, exactly, is The Daily Caller? We're glad you asked.
The website was launched by Tucker Carlson and Neil Patel in January of 2010. Patel formerly served as chief policy advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney. Carlson is a journalist who formerly worked for CNN, MSNBC and Fox News Channel. He's been described as politically conservative or libertarian, but his views don't always mesh with the black-and-white nature of political labeling.
A clip from Carlson's CNN show Crossfire, in which comedian and Comedy Central host Jon Stewart lambasted the show for "hurting America" by encouraging partisanship — and made fun of Carlson's bow tie — became a viral hit online in 2004.
When the Daily Caller launched, Carlson told The Washington Post that his goal wasn't "to get Republicans elected," but instead "to explain what your government is doing.
"We're not going to suck up to people in power, the way so many have. There's been an enormous amount of throne-sniffing."
The Daily Caller's opinion column may be a bit more revealing: headlines include "Romney is right about the importance of being able to fire people," "China owes America billions" and "The top three reasons Eric Holder should be held in contempt."
Oh, and if you find yourself in need of a FMK 9C1 American-made high capacity 9mm handgun engraved with the Bill of Rights, the Daily Caller's giving one away every week until Election Day in November.
But what about Munro?
He's an Irish-born reporter (an immigrant himself) who, according to his Twitter bio, worked at a pair of D.C.-based trade journals until landing a decade-long gig at the National Journal before coming to the Daily Caller.
His recent work for The Daily Caller includes "Obama enacts semi-amnesty for Hispanic vote," "Republicans ridicule Obama's 'shocking claim,'" and "Administration admits to 'hundreds' of meetings with jihad-linked group."
According to Munro's statement — which was taken off the front page and replaced with an article titled "Obama ignores questions about de facto amnesty decision" — he "always goes to the White House prepared with questions for our president."
"I timed the question believing the president was closing his remarks, because naturally I have no intention of interrupting the President of the United States," he wrote.
"I know he rarely takes questions before walking away from the podium. When I asked the question as he finished his speech, he turned his back on the many reporters, and walked away while I and at least one other reporter asked questions."
Was Munro doing his job as a reporter — or purposefully trying to heckle the president and gain notoriety? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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