Snub-gate has made it on board Air Force One. The row over whether or not Gordon Brown was “snubbed” by President Obama because he didn’t get a sit-down, one-on-one, meeting with him (despite repeated requests from Downing Street) has now been taken up by the White House press corps.
On board the presidential plane on their way to a G20 meeting on Friday the first question American journalists asked the official White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs, was about the so called “snub”. Dismissed a “bunch of silliness” by Gibbs.
PRESS GAGGLE
BY PRESS SECRETARY ROBERT GIBBS
Aboard Air Force One
En route to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
MR. GIBBS: Fire away.
Q Gordon Brown, are we snubbing him? And if not, why did we turn down five requests for bilaterals?
MR. GIBBS: The notion that there remains anything other than a special relationship between the two countries is silly and absurd. The President spoke with Prime Minister Brown on the phone in the lead-up to G20 just two weeks ago. They spent time after the climate change dinner on Monday. They spent time after the Security Council today, and obviously went into the Friends of Pakistan meeting together, on an issue that’s of great concern to both countries.
So I think — I think this is a media-generated bunch of silliness.
Q Bunch of silliness?
MR. GIBBS: Bunch of silliness.
Q But why did we turn down the request for a bilateral?
MR. GIBBS: We have — because we’re talking to them constantly. The notion that you can only do this in one meeting I think would — doesn’t make any sense. Because of the special relationship we have, we’re in constant communication.