White House deputy press secretary TJ Ducklo was suspended for a week after making humiliating comments to a reporter, leading to criticism that President Biden broke his promise to fire any employee who disrespected colleagues.
Vanity Fair reported on Friday that Ducklo made “derogatory and misogynistic” comments to Politico’s Tara Palmeri when she asked about her romantic relationship with Axios reporter Alexi McCammond.
Sources told the magazine that Ducklo, in an unofficial phone call on January 20, threatened to “destroy” Palmeri and claimed that she only wanted to ask about McCammond because of the jealousy that an unidentified man in the past wanted “f — “McCammond and not Palmeri.
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Vanity Fair reported that while Ducklo apologized to Palmeri for losing patience, White House officials also criticized Palmeri for breaking an unofficial deal with Ducklo. The story about McCammond and Ducklo ended up being fed to People as a sample of the couple.
The White House announced on Friday that Ducklo was suspended for a week without pay and would no longer work with Politico when he returned.
President Biden said last month that he would immediately fire any of his nominees, “without if, and” or but, “if he knew that they treated a colleague with disrespect, leading to criticism that he broke the promise with one of his employees themselves.
“We have a new definition of slap in the face,” tweeted Nevada journalist Jon Ralston, saying the language Ducklo reported was “repellent and sexist.”
Politico made an apparent reference to the fight in his January 21 edition of the Playbook, which Palmeri helps write. Observing Biden’s comments about treating colleagues with respect, he wrote: “Serious question in our minds this morning: does this pattern apply to how mid-level press officers treat reporters?”
McCammond was transferred to cover Vice President Kamala Harris, despite his relationship with Ducklo, which caused astonishment.
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McCammond, who frequently appears on the left MSNBC, continued to cover and comment on Biden’s White House for Axios, even after revealing their relationship in November. Axios, after initially declaring that she had been taken off Biden’s route, ended up saying that she had been left behind in the coverage, suggesting that she would still play a role, despite her conflict of interest.