CNN on Wednesday denied a Texas woman’s claims that the network’s reporters on the ground during President Donald Trump’s visit to Corpus Christi were “rude.”
In a Facebook post first flagged by reporter Christina Wilkie, Suzanne Guggenheim wrote on Tuesday, “So honored to be part of the 30 cars Trump motorcade in Corpus Christi.”
She claimed “a handful of protesters” congregated while Trump was discussing the destruction and flooding left by Hurricane Harvey, though Trump appeared to regard the impromptu crowd as a group of supporters, and thanked them for their applause.
“I bet the Press will work hard at finding & promoting them,” Guggenheim wrote. “My van is Press #1, I’m driving CNN… Their crew was just as rude as you would expect. So, I put on my red “Make America Great Again” hat.”
A CNN insider denied Guggenheim’s account, telling TPM by email: “The CNN team had very little interaction with the driver. This is completely false.”
“Grrrr,” Guggenheim remarked of the network in a later comment on a different post.
On her Facebook profile, Guggenheim identifies herself as a “Tea Party organizer, Political activist Conservative, Pro-life, Pro-gun, Pro-Israel. Catholic” and is listed as a member of the Tea Party Patriots and co-founder of the Texas Patriots PAC.
Guggenheim posted memes criticizing “fake news” and the Republican Party on her page, and identified herself as county campaign chair for Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) 2016 presidential campaign.
She did not immediately respond to TPM’s request for comment.
