Josh Earnest Has a Very Surprising Pick for ‘Nicest’ Reporter

When you’re the White House Press Secretary, you don’t exactly have the best relationship with reporters. “Antagonistic” is the first word that comes to mind. But Josh Earnest gave a very surprising answer for who he considers the nicest reporter in the briefing room, in an interview with Mark Halperin and John Heilemann on their new Bloomberg show With All Due Respect.

Halperin asked, “Who’s the most consistently delightful reporter in the White House press corps that you deal with?” Earnest hedged a bit, joking that he would forever “tarnish the reputation” of whoever he mentioned.

But eventually he gave them an answer: Jonathan Karl. Yes, the same Jonathan Karl who regularly puts Earnest on the hot seat as one of the toughest reporters in the room, most recently over the White House response to ISIS.

Earnest explained, “Jon Karl is consistently the nicest, friendliest, most direct guy, down to Earth, friendliest individual you’d ever want to meet.”

You can watch that clip here, via Bloomberg:

[image via screengrab]

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

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