Why Are no Reporters Allowed to go With First Lady to China?

0
442

michelle_obamaFor the first time in the modern age, no reporters will be allowed to accompany a sitting first lady on a international trip to a foreign country. Michelle Obama is making a trip to China, she will be accompanied by her children and her mother on her trip but the press is not allowed to join her.

“Michelle Obama’s trip to China starting on Wednesday will be nonpolitical, the White House says, a ‘people-to-people exchange’ emphasizing the importance that both nations place on education. As if to underscore the point, no reporters are traveling with the first lady, and she does not plan to give interviews while there,” reports the New York Times.

The Obama administration is downplaying the trip as a social occasion. “Tina Tchen, Mrs. Obama’s chief of staff and a first-generation Chinese-American, said a multigenerational visit would be appreciated by the Chinese, who value tradition,” says the Times.

The real question is what is the First Lady doing in China? The United States is at odds with Russia and by extension China as the communist nation has back Russia’s right to the Ukraine. What is going on that for the first time in modern US history, a first lady will travel with her mother and children and roughly 50 staff members, but refuse to take the press?

By the way, the press itself is making very little of this.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.