(TheRedAlertNews.com) – In a bombshell move on February 25, 2025, President Trump’s Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the White House would now select its press pool, removing this role from the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA).
See the tweet below!
Critics fear increased government control and diminished journalistic independence.
President Trump’s administration, through Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, unveiled this sweeping change, citing the need to align the press pool with the “media habits of the American people in 2025.”
Leavitt argued this step would include more new outlets and diversify media representation, inviting scrutiny and concern about what it means for a free press.
Central to the debate is the administration’s decision to include both legacy outlets and new media in the press pool.
This includes digital sites and streaming services, previously underrepresented under the WHCA’s watch.
Critics, however, see this as a potential guise for political favoritism, which might prioritize pro-Trump media over established, objective journalism.
“Legacy media outlets who have been here for years will still participate in the pool, but new voices are going to be welcomed in as well,” Leavitt said, cited by USA Today.
The Associated Press (AP), notably absent from recent White House spaces, has been restricted due to a refusal to use President Trump’s newly coined term, “Gulf of America.”
This clash over terminology highlights the larger battle over journalistic independence under this new arrangement.
A federal judge denied the AP a restoration of access, deferring a formal decision to March 20, leaving questions about press freedom suspended in uncertainty.
WHCA President Eugene Daniels criticized the groundwork laid by this administration, stating it undermines press independence.
“This move tears at the independence of a free press in the United States. It suggests the government will choose the journalists who cover the president,” he added.
Since the WHCA has long dictated which journalists cover the president, its exclusion fuels concerns about potential government overreach.
The Trump administration’s aim to “restore power to the American people” by deciding the press pool daily creates a complex dynamic, suggesting increased control rather than public empowerment.
When the administration dictates media access, it raises the specter of a biased information flow while challenging press freedom’s foundational role in democracy.
Trump is enacting a massive shakeup in the White House press pool.
Now the White House will select who is in the press pool, not the White House Correspondents Association.
This is another step in replacing the corrupt legacy media. MSM no more.
— Clandestine (@WarClandestine) February 25, 2025
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