White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced what will likely cause heartburn among the legacy press: the total and complete dissolution of the White House’s ties to the Correspondents Association.
"For decades, a group of D.C.-based journalists—the White House Correspondents Association—has long dictated which journalists get to ask questions of the president of the United States in the most intimate spaces. Not anymore,” she said.
— The Right To Bear Memes (@grandoldmemes) February 26, 2025
Power is being returned to the people—an upset to the established order in the media is happening (via Politico):
🚨 HOLY SMOKES.
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) February 25, 2025
Karoline Leavitt just announced that the White House will cut power from the “White House Correspondents Association” and make their own press pool.
This is huge. pic.twitter.com/KR4VANmgwM
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the changes in the briefing room on Tuesday, asserting that the White House Correspondents’ Association “should no longer have a monopoly” on organizing pools and that the White House would determine the makeup of the pool on a day-to-day basis.
“All journalists, outlets and voices deserve a seat at this highly coveted table,” Leavitt said.
This move is likely going to drive the media insane. Still, with their loss of power and influence, with more voters becoming dismissive of their biased and fake news daily—the Trump White House sees an opportunity to rip open that wound a little wider, and they should.
The Associated Press, which has been banned from Oval Office and Air Force One events, lost its first legal bout with the Trump White House this week, with a judge refusing to restore their access for the time being.
Axios quoted a White House advisor who explained this move, which came off the heels of the recent court ruling, was a FAFO moment for the AP and the rest of the press pool regarding how business was done:
The move comes in response to the lawsuit filed by the Associated Press — a traditional fixture in the Oval Office and on Air Force One — against Leavitt and other top officials after they banned AP from such areas. The correspondents' association filed a friend of the court brief in support of AP.
The ban followed the AP's decision to continue referring to the Gulf of Mexico by its traditional name, rather than the Gulf of America, as Trump designated that body of water in an executive order.
The White House said in a court filing Monday that news organizations' access to the president is not "a constitutional right." And since AP mentioned its role in the press pool 52 times in its initial 18-page lawsuit, the White House decided to take over the function of picking the outlets in it.
"The AP and the White House Correspondents Association wanted to f--k around. Now it's finding out time," one White House adviser told Axios.
Also, I don’t want to hear it from the media. Biden purged the press pool. The reaction to this move was predictable:
Remember when the Biden White House revoked **442** reporters’ press credentials?
— John Hasson (@SonofHas) February 15, 2025
I don’t remember the White House Correspondents Association complaining then pic.twitter.com/V4WarKzpON
Old enough to remember this too. https://t.co/eYJeOIwfMP pic.twitter.com/SxgYvYOQjA
— James Lynch (@jameslynch32) February 25, 2025
“This move tears at the independence of a free press in the United States,” Eugene Daniels, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, said in response to Leavitt’s announcement. “In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their own press corps.” https://t.co/OPRg3AvaAo
— Jeff Domingues (@jeffdomingues) February 25, 2025
This move does not give the power back to the people - it gives power to the White House. The WHCA is democratically elected by the full-time White House press corps.
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) February 25, 2025
WHCA has determined pools for decades because only representatives FROM our outlets can determine resources all… https://t.co/GeGrckDYVt
These guys all woke up on January 20th and want you to believe the last four years didn't happen. https://t.co/nkeEldl6ys pic.twitter.com/NWBHobKwJq
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) February 25, 2025
The message is clear. Given that the White House has already kicked one news organization out of the pool because of coverage it does not like, it is making certain everyone else knows that the rest of us can be barred too if the president does not like our questions or stories.
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) February 25, 2025
Important to note, though: None of this will stop professional news outlets from covering this president in the same full, fair, tough and unflinching way that we always have. Government efforts to punish disfavored organizations will not stop independent journalism.
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) February 25, 2025
Via the White House Correspondents Association:
This move tears at the independence of a free press in the United States. It suggests the government will choose the journalists who cover the president. In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their own press corps.
“For generations, the working journalists elected to lead the White House Correspondents’ Association board have consistently expanded the WHCA’s membership and its pool rotations to facilitate the inclusion of new and emerging outlets.
“Since its founding in 1914, the WHCA has sought to ensure that the reporters, photographers, producers and technicians who actually do the work – 365 days of every year – decide amongst themselves how these rotations are operated, so as to ensure consistent professional standards and fairness in access on behalf of all readers, viewers and listeners.
“To be clear, the White House did not give the WHCA board a heads up or have any discussions about today’s announcements. But the WHCA will never stop advocating for comprehensive access, full transparency and the right of the American public to read, listen to and watch reports from the White House, delivered without fear or favor.”
Journalists were caught giving Biden questions in advance in exchange for being picked. You were fine with it
— Sunny (@sunnyright) February 25, 2025
Get bent. https://t.co/3sZqW35H6V
Give me a break, Peter.🤡
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) February 25, 2025
Moments after you tweeted this, the President invited journalists into the Oval and took questions for nearly an hour.
Your hysterical reaction to our long overdue and much needed change to an outdated organization is precisely why we made it.
Gone… https://t.co/dsR4fLWjpD
UPDATE: These people, man...
And you wonder why the public thinks the press is a joke. https://t.co/yljDgLg3WW
— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) February 25, 2025
Nothing exemplifies the state of the Acela Media like the president of the White House Correspondents Association leaving his job so he can co-host an MSNBC weekend show. https://t.co/Z8QOxqPP1K
— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) February 25, 2025
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