Deputy White House press secretary TJ Ducklo has been banned for a week after allegedly making demeaning remarks against a female reporter, sparking criticism that President Biden had broken a pledge to fire staffers who disrespected colleagues.
Vanity Fair reported Friday that Ducklo made “derogatory and misogynistic” comments against Politico’s Tara Palmeri when she asked about his romantic relationship with Axios reporter Alexi McCammond.
Sources told the magazine that in an off-the-record call on January 20, Ducklo threatened to ‘destroy’ Palmeri, claiming that she only wanted to ask about McCammond because of jealousy that an unknown man had wanted in the past ‘f —‘ McCammond and not Palmeri.
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Vanity Fair reported that while Ducklo apologized to Palmeri for losing his temper, White House officials also criticized Palmeri for breaking an off-the-record agreement with Ducklo. The story about McCammond and Ducklo was eventually submitted to People for a puff of the couple.
The White House announced on Friday that Ducklo had been banned for a week without a salary and would no longer work with Politico when he returned.
President Biden said last month that he would immediately fire one of his appointees, ‘no ifs, ands’ or buts,’ if he ever learned that they had treated a colleague with disrespect, leading to criticism that he had made the pledge with one of his own staff members.
“We have a new definition of slap on the wrist,” tweeted Nevada-based journalist Jon Ralston, saying Ducklo’s reported language was “repulsive and sexist.”
Politico made an apparent reference to the feud in his January 21 edition of Playbook, helping Palmeri write. Noting Biden’s comments about treating colleagues with respect, it wrote, “Serious question on our minds this morning: Does this standard apply to the way middle-level press officers treat reporters?”
McCammond was transferred to defeat Vice President Kamala Harris, despite her relationship with Ducklo, which raised eyebrows.
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McCammond, who appears regularly on left-wing MSNBC, continued to cover and comment on the Biden White House for Axios, even after she revealed her relationship in November. Axios, after initially stating she’d been taken off the Biden beat, eventually said she’d taken a “backseat” on the reporting, suggesting she would still play a role despite her conflict of interest.