{"id":12950,"date":"2026-11-13T08:01:36","date_gmt":"2026-11-13T08:01:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/?p=12950"},"modified":"2026-11-13T08:01:36","modified_gmt":"2026-11-13T08:01:36","slug":"nicusor-dan-says-insulting-language-justified-banning-journalist-from-presidential-press-conferences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/?p=12950","title":{"rendered":"Nicu\u0219or Dan says insulting language justified banning journalist from presidential press conferences"},"content":{"rendered":"

President Nicu\u0219or Dan has defended his decision to ban investigative journalist Ovidiu Vanghele from press conferences at Cotroceni Palace<\/a>. Speaking during a visit to Ireland on Thursday, November 12, the Romanian leader said the measure was prompted by an attack on both his personal dignity and that of his office.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not a piece of garbage,\u201d Dan said at a press conference. \u201cAs a person, I have the right not to engage in dialogue with someone who does not respect me.\u201d<\/p>\n

He further argued that the issue extended beyond him personally because, in symbolic terms, he headed Romania\u2019s state apparatus, which includes police officers, teachers, healthcare workers, civil servants, and judges.<\/p>\n

\u201cI cannot accept that any of these people who work for the Romanian state can be treated like garbage by a citizen of this state,\u201d he stated. \u201cIt is a form of disrespect toward the state itself and the authority of the Romanian state.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moreover, Nicu\u0219or Dan added that citizens had democratic means of challenging public officials, including protests, lawsuits, and criminal complaints.<\/p>\n

He then argued that verbal violence could lead to physical violence and that public discourse had to be protected from such conduct.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat will a child understand if a citizen can refer to the country\u2019s president as garbage?\u201d he asked. \u201cThey may understand that they can behave the same way toward their teacher or parent, and perhaps tomorrow hit them over the head with something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked whether excluding Ovidiu Vanghele was compatible with press freedom, president Dan pointed to his record of answering questions from journalists.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am at a press conference right now, answering all your questions and those of your colleagues,\u201d he said. \u201cI have held around one hundred of them during this term. I think that is the answer.\u201d<\/p>\n

The president also maintained that the decision was not based on the journalist\u2019s opinions. He said Vanghele\u2019s posts amounted to \u201can attack on the dignity of the person and the dignity of the office.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moreover, the official explained that he had read the journalist\u2019s comments while reviewing public reactions to his April 2026 appointments of chief prosecutors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI read in detail what was written during those days, and that is how I came across what Mr. Vanghele had written,\u201d Dan stated. \u201cI decided that we had nothing more to do together.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/reel\/29401482516156353<\/a><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, in an interview on a Pagina de Media podcast later on Thursday, Ovidiu Vanghele acknowledged that he had called Nicu\u0219or Dan \u201cgarbage\u201d in a social media post published in April.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I did that,\u201d the journalist said. \u201cI chose my words very, very poorly in that context, and I apologize for it.\u201d
\n\u201cI have no problem doing so. I think it is a matter of civility to reconsider something harsh and offensive when someone tells you they experienced it that way,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Ovidiu Vanghele also said this was the first time the president had specified which of his public comments he considered insulting. He mentioned that he had written the comments about president Dan publicly but had never addressed them directly to him.<\/p>\n

The journalist linked the post to Nicu\u0219or Dan\u2019s appointment of several chief prosecutors, including Romania\u2019s prosecutor general, whom Vanghele considered unsuitable for the position.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the personal, human level, he has every right\u201d to react, Vanghele stated.<\/p>\n

He added that the Presidential Administration had allowed him to attend Tuesday\u2019s press conference after completing the required accreditation procedure.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/paginademedia\/videos\/4672422732975963<\/a><\/p>\n

What happened<\/h3>\n

The dispute began during a press conference on Tuesday, November 10, when Ovidiu Vanghele asked the president about prosecutor general Cristina Chiriac and a vote she had cast in the prosecutors\u2019 section of the Superior Council of Magistracy.<\/p>\n

Instead of answering the question, Nicu\u0219or Dan informed Vanghele that he had previously ordered staff to prevent him from attending Cotroceni press conferences during his presidential term.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven the insults you have directed at me, I ordered that you no longer attend press conferences at Cotroceni Palace during this term,\u201d Dan told him. \u201cMy merciful colleagues ignored my order.\u201d<\/p>\n

The decision prompted criticism from journalists, civil society organizations, and politicians.<\/p>\n

For example, more than 50 Romanian newsrooms and nongovernmental organizations, including the Center for Independent Journalism, ActiveWatch, APADOR-CH, and Recorder, subsequently asked president Dan to reverse it. In an open letter<\/a> published by ActiveWatch, the signatories described the ban as a direct threat to press freedom and the public\u2019s constitutional right to access information of public interest.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Nicu\u0219or Dan has defended his decision to ban investigative journalist Ovidiu Vanghele from press conferences at Cotroceni Palace. Speaking during a visit to Ireland on Thursday, November 12, the Romanian leader said the measure was prompted by an attack on both his personal dignity and that of his office. \u201cI am not a piece […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12950"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12950\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}