United States: CFWIJ welcomes the resignation of TJ Ducklo after his threatening remarks

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February 15, 2021- White House deputy press secretary TJ Ducklo has resigned from his post after the reported scandal of threatening a female correspondent. The deputy secretary called and threatened Politico reporter Tara Palmeri for pursuing a story on his relationship with a journalist. After the media exposed his misconduct, TJ Ducklo was suspended from his post for a week by Jen Psaki, the WH press secretary. However, the decision was widely criticized as insufficient for his deplorable actions. CFWIJ welcomes TJ Ducklo’s resignation from the Biden administration.

The former deputy White House press secretary was suspended for a week without pay on Friday, February 12. The decision came after his threats and misogynistic remarks against Politico reporter Tara Palmeri surfaced. Tara was berated for wanting to report on Ducklo's relationship with Axios political reporter Alexi McCammond. Ducklo attempted to intimidate Tara to dissuade her from unveiling the details of his relationship. 

Following the incident, the news outlet reached out to White House officials for clarification, prompting several conversations within the administration. White House press secretary Jen Psaki shared on her Twitter account, "TJ Ducklo has apologized to the reporter, with whom he had a heated conversation about his personal life. He is the first to acknowledge this is not the standard of behavior set out by the President."
The short suspension of the deputy secretary is dismissive of the journalistic standards the Biden administration promised to uphold. On Sunday, February 14, TJ Ducklo shared a statement on his resignation over Twitter, "No words can express my disgust, my embarrassment and my regrets for my behaviour…"

The Coalition For Women In Journalism welcomes TJ Ducklo's resignation from the Biden administration. We hope this incident will signal an end to the pattern of intimidation and harassment towards journalists. We urge White House press officials to be more careful in their communication with women journalists.