President Obama’s Press Conference: HuffPost Called On Second With Iran Question

In today’s press conference in the briefing room, President Obama spoke for about 10 minutes, covering the topics of Iran, clean energy and healthcare at the top. He then took questions, ending the press conference at about 1:25pm, about 55 mins.

AP’s Jennifer Loven got the first question, which is not at all out of the ordinary. What was more unusual is that the President called on HuffPost’s Nico Pitney second- he asked a question from the ground in Iran. Politico is calling this “a clearly coordinated exchange” because of the uniqueness of HuffPost called on second and the topic of Iran.

Fox’s Major Garrett, USA Today‘s David Jackson, CBS’ Chip Reid, NBC’s Chuck Todd, ABC’s Jake Tapper, McClatchy’s Margaret Talev (she asked the President about his smoking habit, to which he replied he sometimes falls off the wagon but is about 95 percent cured), Bloomberg’s Hans Nicols and American Urban Radio’s April Ryan were among those who were called on by the President. CNN’s Suzanne Malveaux asked the last question about Neda, an Iran female protestor who was shot and killed in the streets of Tehran, which was caught on video and on the Internet. President Obama called it “heartbreaking.”

The President noteably did not call on the Washington Post or the New York Times.

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