Hillary Clinton’s director of communications Jennifer Palmieri toed the line on Monday while discussing the Clinton campaign’s use of a moving rope barrier at a parade to keep the press away from Clinton.
Her explanation of the incident prompted laughter from the panel on MSNBC’s Morning Joe.
"This is a good time to talk about our theory of press access," she said as host Joe Scarborough laughed.
"We try to allow as much access as possible, but my view is, it [access] can’t get in the way of her trying to campaign," Palmieri continued.
Palmieri’s depiction of a campaign that allows "as much access as possible" for the press conflicts with the accounts offered by actual members of the press. Journalists have been unsparing in their criticism of the incident, part of a concerning trend for the controlling Clinton campaign.
In one memorable instance, Clinton Global Initiative press minders followed reporters into the bathroom during an event. The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza wrote that the incident reflected "the dark and, frankly, paranoid view the Clintons have toward the national media."