President Donald Trump hosted a roundtable at the White House on Wednesday, bringing together senior administration officials and several independent journalists who have directly covered Antifa activity in cities such as Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, as reported [1] by The Gateway Pundit.
The discussion focused on the administration’s efforts to confront Antifa, which Trump designated as a terrorist organization last month.
Among those invited were several journalists known for on-the-ground reporting of Antifa-related violence and demonstrations: Andy Ngo, Senior Editor at The Post Millennial; Nick Sortor, an independent journalist recently arrested while covering protests in Portland; Julio Rosas of The Blaze; independent Seattle reporter Brandi Kruse; former Fox 13 Seattle reporter Jonathan Choe; Katie Daviscourt; Savanah Hernandez; Cam Higby; James Klug; Nick Shirley; and journalist Jack Posobiec.
Former Seattle television reporter Brandi Kruse delivered one of the day’s most notable remarks during her exchange with the president, describing her personal shift in perspective regarding both Antifa and the media’s portrayal of Trump.
“Mr. President, Brandi Kruse,” she began.
“You can tell that several of us will be very fired up today because some of us have been covering Antifa for 15 years and have never had anyone in a position of authority even acknowledge their existence. And I also think the single most important thing you’ve done with this scourge is acknowledging that Antifa is a real thing.”
Kruse credited Trump’s decision to label Antifa a terrorist organization as a major turning point.
“I genuinely believe that there would be people at these tables who would be dead today and would have been killed in Portland had you not called them a terror organization and said we are going to bring the full weight of the federal government to bear,” she said.
“They haven’t been as quick to violence since you made that designation. They don’t want to go to federal prison.”
Kruse also revealed her personal transformation, describing herself as a former critic of Trump who had suffered from what she called “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
“I was told by probably a dozen people not to tell you this. I’m living proof that you can recover from TDS,” she said.
“I had strong Trump Derangement Syndrome for probably eight years. This is one of the reasons I recovered from it. By the way, it’s much better to not have TDS. I’m happier, I’m healthier, more successful. I even think I got a little more attractive after I got rid of my Trump derangement syndrome.”
She went on to explain how her experience as a Seattle reporter changed her outlook. “I was a mainstream reporter in Seattle for 10 years. I was a TV reporter on the streets doing my job, and I was still assaulted by Antifa,” Kruse said.
“It’s not about being conservative. It’s about people who go there and show what they’re doing.”
Kruse concluded that the dishonesty she witnessed from the media and Democratic officials regarding Antifa opened her eyes.
“When I saw, after all those years, that the media wouldn’t be honest about what was happening, that Democratic politicians wouldn’t be honest about what was happening, I thought, ‘Well, gosh, if they’re not being honest about that, maybe they’re not being honest about President Trump either.’ It opened my mind to just looking at things for what they were. Now I find you quite funny.”
Video of the roundtable was recorded by KOMO News in Washington.