The liberal legacy media’s whining and lying about the latest move by the Trump White House to expand access to all outlets is receiving a strong pushback from advocates of having a more representative press corps cover the administration.
Written up by liberal outlets such as the New York Times as an erosion of access, the plan announced Tuesday by spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt will expand those in the White House Press pool, opening the closed club of “elite” outlets to more than just members of the White House Correspondents’ Association.
The regulars are also balking at the White House deciding pool members, not them, calling it an unprecedented affront to press freedom inside the president’s media bubble.
White House @PressSec Karoline Leavitt is giving more reporters more access to President Donald Trump, who is already one of the most accessible world leaders.
— Rob Bluey (@RobertBluey) February 26, 2025
Yet in the bizarro world of Washington, the elitist press corps reacted with scorn, calling the move a threat to the… pic.twitter.com/0ZbUPZoWt3
Proponents of the changes are responding to the criticisms, noting that the public is now getting more of its news from alternative outlets like those Leavitt wants included in the pool.
They are also recalling that while Trump’s team is opening up the media allowed in, both former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden tightened media control and even threatened reporters.
Cygnal pollster Brent Buchanan, for example, cited new data that showed many voters don’t get their information from the old media that makes up the press pool like they once did.
“The emerging electorate isn’t tuned into mainstream media,” Buchanan said.
“Over 60% of voters under age 55 get their news from a social media source. Over a third of black and Hispanic voters turn to YouTube. For men under 55, 20% are listening to podcasts and 25% getting news from X,” he said.
.@PressSec on the press pool reforms: "There are hundreds of journalists who show up to this building every day and are not granted that luxury of flying on Air Force One and asking @POTUS questions. We want to ensure that everyone has a seat at that highly coveted table." pic.twitter.com/EFsr6uIg6L
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 25, 2025
What’s more, those news consumers are Trump’s base, and many prefer streaming outlets such as Real America’s Voice. “All these groups are who elected Trump.”
The attacks on Leavitt and the administration also appear to ignore the limits Biden and Obama put on the outlets they didn’t like.
Biden’s White House, for example, took away hundreds of regular daily passes, forcing reporters from those mostly conservative outlets to call ahead and get a daily clearance into the White House.
Daily Signal reporter Fred Lucas was one of those who lost his daily “hard” pass.
“The real question is about press access to covering the White House and the president. Based on what is happening now, there is no comparison between what the Biden White House did and what the Trump White House just did,” he told Secrets.
“The Biden White House restricted access to about 400 reporters. The Trump White House is letting more reporters into the pool rotation, which will allow more news outlets to ask questions of the president and vice president. It’s not without merit to debate the administrative matter of whether the association or the White House should control the pool. But as of now, the record stands that Biden restricted press access and Trump has expanded it,” he added.
PUTTING THE MSM ON NOTICE
— Real America's Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) February 26, 2025
KAROLINE LEAVITT SENT AN EARTHQUAKE THROUGH WASHINGTON SHE BASICALLY SAID TO THE ESTABLISHMENT, ‘YOU GUYS ARE NO LONGER IN CHARGE.’ @BrianGlennTV details how Leavitt put the access to the briefing room back in the hands of the people. @stinchfield1776 pic.twitter.com/DYMNw1bwRM
Obama also took back hundreds of passes, targeting irregular visitors and columnists. His administration also sent the FBI and Justice Department out to track down the sources of reporters and even seized phone records of reporters.
In many cases, Obama stopped dealing with reporters outright, instead turning to promoting his actions on social media. And he broke tradition by not inviting the pool in to cover the start of critical meetings like those Trump regularly takes questions at, 1,000 so far, according to one count.
The tension was so bad under Obama, that the former editor of the Washington Post wrote a report for “Committee to Protect Journalists” detailing the persecution of reporters and their sources.
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Leonard Downie Jr. revealed that the Obama administration instituted an “Insider Threat Program” that urged federal employees to monitor their colleagues for leaking to reporters. Those suspected of being sources were forced to take lie-detector tests.
He also quoted big-name reporters being critical of Obama’s efforts. “This is the most closed, control freak administration I’ve ever covered,” David E. Sanger, the chief Washington correspondent of The New York Times, told Downie.