Who Is Neil Munro and Why Is He Interrupting the President?
Did you watch the president's address on his new immigration policy? Did you see the part where he yelled at someone for interrupting? Turns out that someone was The Daily Caller's Neil Munro, whose Twitter bio describes him as: "Born Irish, then became a Cold War bridegroom. I worked at Defense News, Washington Technology, then 10 years at National Journal, and now at TheDC. Lucky me." Munro's Daily Caller archive is full of stories on immigration, like this one from today, in which he wrote:
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The administration’s election-year amnesty move may grow far larger than advertised, because it can be used by foreign children who are now in the country when they reach the age of 15. Younger illegal immigrants “will be able to age into the process,” said an administration official June 15.
It may also be exploited by other immigrants who will use the existing black-market in false documents to fake suitable work histories and ages.
If Munro was trying to annoy the commander in chief, he certainly succeeded. A clearly exasperated Obama told Munro "The next time I prefer you let me finish my statements before you ask a question," then headed him off when he tried to respond: "I didn't ask for an argument." Talking Points Memo reports Munro then "identified himself as an immigrant, and walked off."
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The New York Times' Brian Stelter tweets that Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson confirmed Munro had interrupted the president, and was defending his reporter, though he hadn't yet seen the footage. "As a general matter, reporters are there to ask questions," Carlson told Stelter. (Update, 3:02: Carlson tweeted, "We are very proud of, @NeilMunroDC for doing his job.")
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TPM posted this video:
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For some reason the only phrase that comes to mind when considering this tense-yet-silly situation is Charlie Brown's "good grief."
Update, 3:25pm: Munro has posted a statement on The Daily Caller that reads:
I always go 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. 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.
