Trump Revokes Washington Post's Press Pass

On Monday, Donald Trump's campaign announced via Facebook that it was stripping the "phony and dishonest" Washington Post of its press credentials because of its "incredibly inaccurate coverage and reporting of the record setting Trump campaign." Washington Post Executive Editor Martin Baron countered, saying in a statement that Trump's decision to revoke the publication's press credentials was "nothing less than a repudiation of the role of a free and independent press." Baron also stated that the Post will "continue to cover Donald Trump as it has all along — honorably, honestly, accurately, energetically, and unflinchingly."

Throughout this campaign, Trump has not only mocked and called out various reporters, but his campaign has banned journalists from specific outlets — including The Huffington Post, The Daily Beast, and POLITICO — from covering his events, according to the CNN report on the The Washington Post incident. At one recent press conference in the lobby of the Trump Tower in New York, he slammed political reporters as some of the "most dishonest people that I have ever met." As CNN's Jeremy Diamond wrote, "attacking the press is a regular part of the presumptive Republican nominee's stump speech, during which he typically rips reporters as 'scum,' 'slime,' 'dishonest' and 'disgusting' — often prompting jeers from the crowd."

Although Trump has not thus far stated any specific articles that sparked his decision, he aired anger towards The Washington Post earlier on Monday over one of its articles, tweeting:

I am no fan of President Obama, but to show you how dishonest the phony The Washington Post is, they wrote, "Donald Trump suggests President Obama was involved with Orlando shooting" as their headline. Sad!

You can read Baron's full statement of response below:

Many journalists have turned to Twitter to point out the implications of Trump's decision to revoke the The Washington Post's press credentials, as well to highlight his problematic record with other publications.

The Committee to Protect Journalists released a statement from Deputy Executive Director Robert Mahoney, criticizing Trump's move as "bad for voters in the United States and bad for press freedom everywhere" The organization implored Trump to "reconsider" his decision.

The Washington Post's first issue was published on Dec. 6, 1877. According to the Nieman Journalism Lab, The Washington Post has won over 50 Pulitzer Prizes, and its famous coverage of the Watergate scandal, by reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, is widely seen as having led to the fall of Richard Nixon.

Image: Bustle/Dawn Foster