The White House and Pentagon are limiting press access by veteran reporters, favoring small right-wing media outlets over the Associated Press and legacy outlets that serve much larger audiences, and dishing out insults instead of answering questions.
Most administrations have battled the press corps in various ways as they seek to promote positive messages and minimize negative reports, but Trump 2.0 is taking measures further than its predecessors in an effort to limit coverage at a time when Trump has a 39% approval rating, a historic low.
Restricting press access to the White House began in February, when the Trump administration started hand-picking outlets for the press pool covering Trump’s daily activities. The move broke 111 years of tradition in which the White House Correspondents Association determined who was in each day’s pool.
Last Friday, the Trump administration broke precedent again, restricting press access to the White House press secretary, a move CBS News said would “hinder the press corps’ ability to question officials, ensure transparency and hold the government accountable, to the detriment of the American public.”
At the Pentagon, reporters from activist right-wing outlets are in and dozens of legacy outlet reporters are out after refusing to sign a new policy restricting their reporting. Legacy media outlets continue to report on the Pentagon but now do so with severe disadvantages instituted by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Among the outlets signing the policy and reporting from the Pentagon are Turning Point USA, which was founded by Charlie Kirk; the Gateway Pundit, which filed for bankruptcy in 2024 due to defamation lawsuits over its 2020 election reporting; and Lindell TV, the outlet created by the My Pillow founder and 2020 election denialist Mike Lindell.
Last Friday, the Trump administration broke precedent again, restricting press access to the White House press secretary.
Conservative outlets Fox News and Newsmax were among the media outlets that refused to sign the new Pentagon policy, which comes at a time when the U.S. military is engaged in potentially illegal activities, including sending troops to patrol U.S. cities and attacking boats it says are ferrying illegal drugs.
A recent 186-word report from Lindell TV shows why the Pentagon favors the smaller, more partisan outlets while revealing the problems with the new approach.
“The Pentagon is establishing new National Guard quick reaction forces across the United States,” said a recent story. While mainstream news coverage questioned the legality of the new forces, Lindell TV raised no questions, said, “The initiative brings several benefits,” and failed to note any potential downsides.
Throughout their careers, Trump, who starred in TV’s The Apprentice, and Hegseth, a former Fox News weekend host, have used the media to burnish their public reputations. They now seem to be taking a similar approach in their official capacities.
During his first term, Trump frequently called the news media “the enemy of the American people.” In his second term. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has personified his disdain by insulting reporters who ask legitimate questions.
After Trump announced he would have a summit meeting with Vladimir Putin in Budapest, HuffPost reporter Shirish Date asked who had recommended the city for the meeting. “Your mom did,” Leavitt replied.
Leavitt followed up with a personal attack on Date’s work, texting that he was a “far left hack who nobody takes seriously, including your colleagues in the media, they just don’t tell you that to your face.”
Meanwhile, people around the world who used to receive broadcasts from Voice of America, the federal news agency founded in 1942, have seen services cut and broadcast terminated after Trump slashed its budget and got rid of 1,400 reporters and staff.
Now, Voice of America says right-wing outlet One America News Network will fill in for some of the missing broadcasts. OAN denied the claim.
This article was originally published in Baptist News Global.
