Trump Will Now Get to Pick the Specific Reporters Who Follow Him to Events

Mar. 15, 2025

Donald Trump.Photo: Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty

PresidentDonald Trumpis making changes to which reporters are allowed to attend certain events he speaks at, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday, Feb. 25.

During thetelevised briefing, Leavitt, 27, said D.C.-based journalists who are members of the White House Correspondents Association have “long dictated which journalists get to ask questions of the presidents of the United States in these most intimate spaces.”

Donald Trump.

“Not anymore,” she added.

“I am proud to announce that we are going to give the power back to the people who read your papers, who watch your television shows, and who listen to your radio stations,” the press secretary continued.

“Legacy outlets who have participated in the press pool for decades will still be allowed to join, fear not,” Leavitt continued. “But we will also be offering the privilege to well-deserving outlets who have never been allowed to share in this awesome responsibility.”

The day prior, the White House shared astatementto its official website foreshadowing Tuesday’s briefing.

Donald Trump.Andrew Harnik/AP/Shutterstock

“As we have said from the beginning, asking the President of the United States questions in the Oval Office and aboard Air Force One is a privilege granted to journalists, not a legal right,” the statement read.

Donald Trump.Tierney L. Cross/Getty

Tierney L. Cross/Getty

The AP, which is a core member of the official White House press pool, can still attend some events where Trump speaks, but “access to limited spaces, like the Oval Office and Air Force One,” was revoked, White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich said on Feb. 14.

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“The Associated Press continues to ignore the lawful geographic name change of the Gulf of America. This decision is not just divisive, but it also exposes the Associated Press' commitment to misinformation,” Budowich previouslysaid via X.

source: people.com