Ahead of Thursday evening's first debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump hosted by CNN, the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) issued a lengthy statement criticizing CNN for its decision to block the White House travel pool from covering Biden inside the debate studio.
Explaining that the WHCA has advocated "for weeks" to have the pool included "inside the studio for the presidential debate," the statement shared by WHCA President Kelly O'Donnell of NBC News says the association "is deeply concerned that CNN has rejected our repeated requests to include the White House travel pool inside the studio."
As things stood Thursday afternoon, CNN had agreed only to provide a television feed of the debate, studio access for still photographers, and an allowance for "at least one print reporter" to "enter the studio during a commercial break to briefly observe the setting."
That is, apart from what CNN broadcasts — including only the unmuted microphone and whatever camera view chosen by the show's director — the rest of what happens Thursday night will remain mostly unknown to the American people.
In the WHCA's view, the current level of access allowed by CNN "is not sufficient" and "diminishes a core principle of presidential coverage. The White House pool has a duty to document, report and witness the president's events and his movements on behalf of the American people," the statement reminds before explaining the role of WHCA pool reporters:
The pool is there for the "what ifs?" in a world where the unexpected does happen. A pool report is present to provide context and insight by direct observation and not through the lens of the television production. A pool reporter is an independent reporter whose duties are separate from the production of the debate as a news event. The pool reporter works on behalf of the entire White House press corps. Print pool reports are an important part of the historical record.
According to the WHCA statement, the Biden campaign "supports" its request and the Trump campaign said it "would not oppose the inclusion of the White House pool reporter." The WHCA also notes the unorthodox setting and conditions for Thursday's debate with "no audience" and "format rules that can silence candidates' microphones."
"We don't know how this will play out in real time," the statement cautions. "A pool reporter is there to observe what is said and done when microphones are off or when either candidate is not seen on camera but may speak, gesture, move, or engage in some way."
The WHCA statement also notes that the White House travel pool "has been included in past presidential debates" — hosted by the Commission on President Debates — and "precedent matters for future debates."
With just a few hours before the debate goes live at 9:00 p.m. ET, the WHCA statement "respectfully requests that CNN adjust its plan and welcome the White House travel pool print representative to witness the debate in full for the sake of the news cycle, for history, and mostly importantly for the American people."
WHCA respectfully requests that CNN grant access to the WH print pool reporter for the duration of the debate. Access matters. Independent observation matters. Precedent matters. pic.twitter.com/wNxf8du4t1
— Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) June 27, 2024