Reporter Confronts Republican Candidate for Governor who Barred her From Access Due to Her Gender
July 12th 2019
CNN’s New Day recently hosted a conversation between Republican candidate for Governor of Mississippi, Robert Foster, and a reporter, Larrison Campbell, to whom he refused access because of her gender.
Foster, a sitting State Rep, told Larrison’s paper Mississippi Today, that she wouldn’t be allowed to accompany him on his 15-hour day trip alone because it would “raise suspicions”. This overtly sexist act evoked a social media backlash against Foster, and his attempts to answer Larrison directly on New Day are more surreal than one might even expect.
For example, when asked if he would have granted a male reporter access he responded “I would have…. I didn’t want to end up in a situation where me and Ms. Campbell were alone for an extended period of time within that 15 to 16-hour day. So out of precaution, I wanted to have her bring someone with her, a male colleague….This is my truck, and in my truck, we go by my rules”.
Another noteworthy moment was when Larrison asked by Campbell, "If that’s your rule [not being alone with a woman] why is the onus on me to bring someone along?" he answered "because you wanted to do the interview. I didn't ask you to come along." So much for freedom of the press to report on a candidate for public office.
His reasoning, he states, is that he’s a married man who "took a vow" with his wife to never be alone with another woman, begs the question: How does he plan on being a functional governor while refusing to ever be alone in the same room with a woman?
It's almost impossible to overstate the absurdity of Foster’s statements in this CNN interview, not to mention the story itself. However, apparently that’s not how Foster himself sees it.