Daily Mail allows editor to continue covering Trump while reportedly interviewing for White House job
Politico reported on Tuesday that David Martosko, the Daily Mail's US political editor, was interviewed for a White House position. His name has been mentioned for weeks as a possible press secretary.
Martosko, who has been spotted at Trump Tower this week, has continued to cover Trump as a journalist.
On Wednesday, for instance, he authored two stories related to Trump for the publication. A third story he wrote centered on Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee.
It's an interesting turn for someone who scrutinized other members of the press for allegedly being too close to the Clinton campaign.
Throughout 2016, Martosko earned a reputation as a Trump sympathizer for his favorable coverage of the real-estate mogul, accompanied with his frequent scolding of fellow journalists who reported more critically on the Republican candidate.
At one point, Jenna Johnson, a politics reporter for the Washington Post, went as far as to characterize Martosko as Trump's "de facto comms director."
A spokesperson for the Daily Mail did not respond to multiple requests for comment about the conflict of interest in having a reporter cover Trump while simultaneously interviewing for a job inside his White House. Martosko declined to comment.
Martosko's entry into journalism is relatively new for him. He spent most of his career in public relations before joining The Daily Caller, a conservative news website, in 2011. Martosko served as the website's executive editor for two years until he made the leap to the Daily Mail in early 2013.