White House Correspondents’ Association says move ‘tears at the independence of a free press’ in the US.
The White House has said it will decide which journalists and media organisations can participate in press pools covering United States President Donald Trump’s administration, in a move critics have decried as an attack on press freedom.
The pool system – which prioritises select television, radio, wire, print and photojournalists for coverage of smaller events – has been dominated for decades by journalists from outlets such as CNN, Reuters, ABC News, Fox News and The New York Times.
Trump administration spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday that those outlets will maintain access. But she said the administration will now give access to other outlets, as it wrests control from the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA), which previously coordinated the pool’s rotation.
“For decades, a group of DC-based journalists, the White House Correspondents’ Association, has long dictated which journalists get to ask questions of the president of the United States in these most intimate spaces. Not any more,” Leavitt said at a news briefing.
“Moving forward, the White House press pool will be determined by the White House press team,” Leavitt said, adding that it will add streaming services to the pool’s rotation.
WHCA President Eugene Daniels said the Trump administration did not give any notice to the body ahead of the move, which he said “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,” Daniels said in a statement.
“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 favour,” he added.
When asked about his decision at a gathering of reporters in the Oval Office later on Tuesday, Trump said, “We’re going to be now calling the shots.”
At that same gathering, Trump also tore into The Associated Press (AP) amid an ongoing dispute regarding its policy not to use the term “Gulf of America” – the new name the president has given to the Gulf of Mexico.
In mid-February, the Trump administration barred AP reporters from White House events for several consecutive days and accused the news agency of spreading “lies” over its refusal to exclusively use “Gulf of America”.
“AP has been terrible. I think they’re radical left. I think they’re third-rate reporters,” Trump said on Tuesday.
“I know the person, that specific young lady that works on the account is terrible. She’s a radical left lunatic, as far as I’m concerned,” he added.
On Monday, US District Judge Trevor N McFadden refused to order the White House to immediately restore The AP’s access to presidential events, including in the Oval Office and Air Force One – where Trump regularly holds question-and-answer sessions.
McFadden said the issue required further exploration before he could reach a ruling.
He scheduled an additional hearing for March 30. The ban remains in place in the meantime.
