New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a reporter who forgot his question that she was worried he was not getting enough sleep

insider@insider.com (James Pasley)
·2 min read
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern looks on during a press conference at Parliament on April 07, 2020 in Wellington, New Zealand.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at a press conference on April 7.

Hagen Hopkins/Getty

  • New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made headlines for a moment of lighthearted humor during a daily coronavirus press briefing this week.

  • Jason Walls, a reporter for the New Zealand Herald, appeared to forget what he wanted to ask Ardern and told her to skip him. She responded by telling him she was worried about his sleep.

  • A tweet with a video of the moment got more than 60,000 views, with the journalist who posted it saying it was "heartening to see civility in leadership."

  • As of Thursday, New Zealand had 1,401 coronavirus cases and nine deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was praised for her civility during a daily coronavirus press briefing this week.

At the briefing, the New Zealand Herald reporter Jason Walls, who was updating a livestream of the conference, appeared to forget his question for Ardern.

"Sorry," he said. "It doesn't matter."

"We'll come back to you, no problem," Ardern responded. "I do worry about your sleep at the moment though, Jason."

Joyce Karam, the Washington correspondent for the United Arab Emirates media outlet The National, shared a video of the moment on Twitter, where it had gotten more than 60,000 views as of Thursday.

Karam said that at a time "when journalists are under attack by US President, expelled by China, Egypt and censored by many authoritarian states, it's heartening to see civility in leadership."

The Washington Post recently praised New Zealand's response to the coronavirus pandemic. As of Thursday, the country had 1,401 cases and nine deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Though it was a minor comment from Ardern, it was quite a contrast to President Donald Trump's treatment of journalists during his coronavirus press conferences at the White House. In recent weeks, Trump has lashed out at reporters from different news organizations, calling their questions "nasty" or "threatening" and telling them they're "fake" or will "never make it."

The New Zealand Herald rounded up tweets from people who announced that they were moving to New Zealand or called for Ardern to replace Trump as president in response to the video.

Walls later responded on Twitter, saying he'd caught up on his sleep.

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