A voice from the press section joined the chorus of people demanding answers from President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine on Friday, during a meeting with President Trump and his associates.
“Why don’t you wear a suit?” a man asked Mr. Zelensky. “You’re at the highest level in this country’s office, and you refuse to wear a suit. Just want to see if — do you own a suit?” He added, “A lot of Americans have problems with you not respecting the office.”
The questions came from Brian Glenn, a correspondent for Real America’s Voice, a right-wing cable channel that has spread conspiracy theories about noncitizen voting and helped distribute Stephen K. Bannon’s “War Room” podcast after Mr. Bannon was barred from YouTube, Spotify and other mainstream platforms.
Mr. Glenn’s outlet was selected to take a “secondary TV” role in the White House press pool alongside CNN on Friday — a position that did not exist before this week. That access was granted as the White House continued to block reporters from The Associated Press from attending, according to a schedule sent out by the White House, and as it began this week to handpick the pool reporters who cover the president in small settings, such as the Oval Office meeting with Mr. Zelensky.
Pool reporters attend the events in a rotation traditionally organized by the White House Correspondents’ Association and share their observations with other outlets not present.
Mr. Glenn’s comments about Mr. Zelensky’s appearance echoed Mr. Trump’s on Friday as the Ukrainian leader stepped out of his car at the White House. “He’s all dressed up today,” Mr. Trump told reporters, indicating Mr. Zelensky’s attire.
Since the start of the war, Mr. Zelensky has regularly donned standard-issue field uniforms as a display of solidarity with his country’s armed forces. The criticism that he didn’t wear a suit drew immediate outcry online.
Mr. Zelensky received an outpouring of support internationally after the meeting, which had become adversarial long before Mr. Glenn’s questions.
Lawmakers and media critics were quick to point out that just this week, Elon Musk had appeared at a cabinet meeting wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “tech support” under an overcoat. And when Mr. Musk spoke alongside Mr. Trump in the Oval Office earlier this month, he appeared to be wearing a shirt that read “Occupy Mars.”
Responding to the backlash, Mr. Glenn posted a lengthy personal statement on Saturday morning expressing “extreme empathy for the people of Ukraine” but continuing to berate Mr. Zelensky.
He suggested in the post that the olive-green military fatigues that Mr. Zelensky often wears in meetings with other world leaders signaled respect, but that the black tactical sweater bearing his country’s coat of arms did not.
“For him, once again, to enter the highest office in the most powerful nation in the world, dressed as he did, reflects his inner disrespect for not only our country, the President and the US citizens that have made it possible for Ukraine to survive as long as they have to this point,” Mr. Glenn wrote.
On Friday, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who is dating Mr. Glenn, applauded the exchange on social media.
“I’m so proud of @brianglenntv for pointing out that Zelensky has so much disrespect for America that he can’t even wear a suit in the Oval Office when he comes to beg for money from our President,” she wrote.
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