United States – The scandal of the looting of the belongings of the journalists’ room on board the US President’s plane sparked an uproar in Washington.
“For years, dozens of journalists and others have quietly stuffed their bags before getting off the plane with everything from engraved whiskey glasses to wine glasses and almost anything bearing the Air Force One insignia,” Politico reported.
But last month, the White House Correspondents’ Association sent an email to its members with a stern warning that journalists’ preservation of items missing from the press room as mementos had not gone unnoticed.
The US President is usually accompanied during his travels by 13 journalists who sit in a cabin at the back of the presidential plane. The media pays the journalists’ travel costs, including meals and drinks served to them on board.
The crew distributes only small bags of “M&M” chocolate chips bearing the presidential seal and the signature of the US President. Mugs and other utensils bearing the “Air Force One” logo are available for purchase through the White House Gift Shop website.
But it seems that this is not enough for many reporters traveling on Air Force One. The Politico report described the sounds of dishes and glassware hitting each other inside the journalists’ backpacks as they got off the plane.
According to the report, in one case a former White House correspondent for a major newspaper hosted a dinner party, during which food was served on a set of gilt-rimmed plates that had been stolen from Air Force One and assembled in stages.
At least one reporter responded to the Correspondents’ Association’s rebuke, arranging a “secret” meeting between him and an official press official in a park across from the White House to return an embroidered pillow he had seized from the reporters’ cabin on Air Force One.
Source: Politico
#Scandal #board #Presidents #plane
2024-04-01 01:02:08
