Video of New York Post White House reporter Australian native Ebony Bowden looking like she was mocking an Indian reporter at President Trump’s coronavirus press briefing Wednesday night went viral, with many commenters accusing her of racism for rolling her eyes and giggling as the heavily accented veteran reporter and Brady Briefing Room fixture, Raghubir Goyal, asked Trump a question about his just concluded state visit to India. The video has over 2.4 million views in under 24 hours since it was posted after the press briefing.
The 26-second long video clip shows Bowden in various reactions of apparent mockery as Goyal poses his question to President Trump. Bowden makes a face and leans over to share her reaction with Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Debra Saunders who gives her a knowing look in return. Bowden then shares a laugh with a reporter off camera as she does a facepalm and giggles while looking at Goyal.
Who is that reporter in the green mocking an Indian reporter? I bet she thinks Trump is racist. pic.twitter.com/YtGv32XOUe
— Damon Imani (@damonimani) February 27, 2020
Video of Goyal’s question and President Trump’s reply:
https://twitter.com/heycheri/status/1232921740352770048
Bowden has not commented on Twitter about the video, except to thank a friend who stood up for her about “out of context videos”, “Twitter dot com can be good for breaking news sometimes but is terrible for hot takes and worse for out of context videos and reflections on people you don’t know. I know this – I’m really proud to call
@ebonybowden a close mate and a friend.”
Thank you so much, Elliot. You’re a great friend.
— Ebony Bowden (@ebonybowden) February 27, 2020
For her part, Saunders denied rolling her eyes, “I was not rolling my eyes. And I was responding to something that was said to me. Really people, some of you have nothing better to do then troll for grievances, but find something meaningful and real.”
I was not rolling my eyes. And I was responding to something that was said to me.
Really people, some of you have nothing better to do then troll for grievances, but find something meaningful and real. https://t.co/z1MjpHWtd0— Debra J. Saunders (@debrajsaunders) February 27, 2020
Bowden posted a tweet from CPAC Thursday afternoon where she was covering Vice President Mike Pence’s speech. The ratio was brutal with over 2,300 comments to about 1,200 likes and retweets as of publication of this article.
Hello from #CPAC2020! pic.twitter.com/6R7IuYbLBW
— Ebony Bowden (@ebonybowden) February 27, 2020
— DocWashburn (@DocWashburn) February 27, 2020
In 2018, Bowden posted a video of a road trip she took from New York City to Evansville, Indiana to cover a rally by President Trump on August 30 for Australia’s New Daily. At the outset of her trek to cover the Trump rally, Bowden expresses a fear for her life, saying, “I hope I don’t die on this trip (sighs), I really hope I don’t die.”
While it is not clear if Bowden fears for her life from an accident on the road or from meeting Trump supporters, as she arrives at the rally with time to spare and sets off to interview Trump supporters, she fearfully squeals to the camera, “I’m so nervous!”
After meeting and interviewing Trump supporters for several hours, Bowden says she is surprised at how “civilized” Trump supporters are–and reasonable, too! Apparently this was her first time meeting Trump supporters as she says her New York friends told her that “all Trump voters are crazy”. Bowden was gobsmacked to learn they are not crazy.
Her report for the New Daily is dripping with contempt for Trump and his supporters.
…The people are dancing in their seats, waving banners and posters, and the energy in the stadium is electric.
Welcome to a Trump rally. A key campaign weapon for the 45th President of the United States as he fights for critical Senate seats before the November mid-term elections.
The JumboTron screen above the crowd shows a giant image of Mr Trump in front of a billowing American flag and beneath him, his infamous slogan: “Make America Great Again”.
…This is a pep rally for a state which has been decimated by a downturn in manufacturing and Mr Trump sells the crowd a vision of America as a revered superpower with a booming economy.
His American dream is an illusion. The country has never been more confused or divided over where it stands on the world stage, where it’s headed or what its identity is.
The rally is an illusion, too.
…Mr Trump takes the stage to wild cheers and the people shout “I love you”, as he tells them this is an incredible time for their country, that he is putting America first and seeing an end to people ripping them off and pushing them around.
He is their President, their saviour, the coach of their all-star football team and their rock god all rolled into one.
…Mr Trump is their hero, the master of ceremonies at this circus where the media and Hillary Clinton remain the enemy of the American people.
As the crowd poured out of the stadium with their Make America Great Again hats and banners purchased from one of the dozens of merchandise stands outside, they barely notice the homeless man sleeping on a bench among the dozens of disregarded deck chairs and overflowing bins.
The disciples jump back into their cars, high on the American Dream and the fact that, maybe just for tonight, team USA is winning like the good old days.
End excerpt. To read the complete New Daily article and view a three minute video report from the rally by Bowden, click this link.
And from the ‘You Can’t make This Up Department, Bowden wrote an article for the New Daily in 2014 that accused Australians of being “casual racists”.
The opening paragraphs read like a description of Bowden at the White House press briefing Wednesday:
While many Australians don’t see themselves as racists, new research shows that we are still harbouring unconscious biases, behaving with subtle racism.
Blatant racism, such as verbal abuse, may be less common in Australia because it is now socially unacceptable, but it appears that subtle racism is widespread.
Videos taken of racist attacks on public transport manage to fill society with outrage, but it’s the subtle, everyday racism that’s much more damaging.
UPDATE: Added White House transcript of Q&A:
Q As far as your trip to India, Mr. President, where do we go from here as far as India-U.S. relations are concerned?
And also, Mr. President, you are very famous in India, and Prime Minister Modi is very famous in America. What is the future? And the Indian American community is with you, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, we won’t talk too much about that other than I just got back. A long flight. It’s a long flight. He’s a great gentleman, a great leader. It’s an incredible country. We were treated very, very well, and we really enjoyed it.
A lot of tremendous progress was made in terms of relationship. Our relationship with India is extraordinary right now. And we’re going to be doing a lot of business with India. They’re sending billions and billions of dollars now to the United States.
But we’d rather talk about this right now.
UPDATE 12:30 p.m. EST Friday: Bowden has not commented on Twitter about her behavior at the press briefing as of this update. However, last night she thanked another friend who called her an “absolute class act and an incredible journalist.”
Thank you so much Rach ❤️
— Ebony Bowden (@ebonybowden) February 28, 2020
