Deputy White House press secretary TJ Ducklo has been suspended for a week after harassing and threatening a political journalist pursuing a story about his romantic involvement with another reporter.
Vanity Fair reported that Ducklo reacted angrily during an off-the-record phone call with Politico’s Tara Palmeri when she was reporting on his relationship with Alexi McCammond, an Axios reporter Ducklo met while covering the Biden campaign.
“I will destroy you,” Ducklo reportedly told Palmeri during the phone call, in which he also made misogynistic comments and suggested that she was “jealous” that an unknown man was interested in McCammond and not her.
“TJ Ducklo has apologized to the reporter, with whom he had a heated conversation about his personal life. He is the first to acknowledge that this is not the standard of conduct set forth by the president,” said White House press secretary. Jen Psaki
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“In addition to his initial apology, he sent the reporter a personal note expressing his deep regret. With the approval of the White House Chief of Staff, he has been suspended for a week without pay,” she added. “Plus, when he returns, he will no longer be assigned to work with journalists at Politico.”
The news of Ducklo’s relationship with McCammond was made public in a piece in People magazine this weekend. The two met during the campaign, and McCammond has since been removed from covering Biden’s White House to avoid conflicts of interest, the piece said.
Politico reported in Playbook earlier in the week that the publication had contacted the White House about the story weeks before the People story was published.
However, the Vanity Fair story released Friday gave new details about the process. The outlet reported that Ducklo tried to intimidate Palmeri into killing the story.
When a Politico editor contacted the White House about the comments, Psaki, White House communications director Kate Bedingfield
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Ducklo’s behavior has drawn particular attention from comments President Biden
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“I’m not kidding when I say this: if you ever work with me and I hear you are disrespectful to another coworker or talking to someone, I promise, I’ll fire you on the spot – on the spot. No ifs and buts, Biden said during a virtual swearing-in ceremony on the inauguration day.
“Everyone is entitled to decent and dignified treatment,” he said. “That has been largely missing for the past four years.”