Washington: The White House has announced it will now determine which journalists and media organizations are included in the press pools covering President Donald Trump’s administration — a move critics say threatens press freedom.
The press pool system, traditionally made up of select TV, radio, wire, print, and photojournalists from major outlets like CNN, Reuters, ABC News, Fox News, and The New York Times, will continue to include those established organizations. However, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday that the administration will expand access to other media outlets and streaming services while taking over the selection process from the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA).
“For years, the WHCA — a group of DC-based journalists — controlled who got to ask the president questions in these intimate settings. That’s no longer the case,” Leavitt said at a briefing. “From now on, the White House press team will decide the press pool’s composition.”
The decision was met with criticism from WHCA President Eugene Daniels, who said the association was not informed beforehand. Daniels argued that allowing the government to choose the journalists covering the president undermines a free press.
“This move strikes at the heart of press independence in the United States,” Daniels said in a statement. “In a democracy, leaders should not be able to select their own press corps. We will continue to fight for comprehensive access and transparent coverage without fear or bias.”
When asked about the decision in the Oval Office, Trump confirmed the change. “We’re going to be the ones calling the shots now,” he told reporters.
Tensions between the Trump administration and the press have also escalated over a dispute with The Associated Press (AP) regarding the president’s insistence on renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.” After the AP refused to adopt the term, the White House barred its reporters from events for several days, accusing the agency of spreading falsehoods.
“AP has been terrible,” Trump said on Tuesday. “I think they’re far-left radicals and third-rate reporters. There’s one specific reporter — she’s a radical left lunatic, as far as I’m concerned.”
The AP has taken legal action to challenge the restrictions, but on Monday, US District Judge Trevor N. McFadden declined to immediately restore the agency’s access to presidential events. The judge said more review was needed and scheduled a further hearing for March 30. Until then, the ban remains in effect.
