Bye bye liars!
The Trump administration has taken a bold step by removing a reporter from a left-leaning news outlet, effectively fulfilling its promise to regain control over the White House press pool. This marks a significant break from the past, where the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) traditionally managed the selection of journalists with special access to the President.
S.V. Date, a White House correspondent for the HuffPost, had been scheduled to serve as the print pool reporter on a Wednesday. However, in the early hours, the administration replaced him with a reporter from Axios. This move was part of a broader shift, as the Trump administration also removed Reuters from its position as a wire service, a spot historically held by wire services like Reuters, Associated Press (AP), and Bloomberg. These wire services provide news to a broad range of outlets across the country.
In a clear sign of the administration’s new direction, Bloomberg was the only wire service included in the pool on that day, while outlets like The Blaze and Newsmax were assigned new positions in the press pool. The White House’s decision to adjust the pool arrangement reflects the growing trend of prioritizing outlets that better represent the values and interests of a broader American audience, rather than the traditional DC-centric press.
For decades, a group of major news outlets had rotated journalists into the White House press pool, granting them greater access to the President and certain off-limits areas like the Oval Office or Air Force One. But with a focus on ensuring that the media reflects the interests of everyday Americans, the Trump administration made it clear that the White House press corps needed to evolve.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasized that the media landscape in 2025 is vastly different from what it was in 1925. “It’s time to end the monopoly that DC-based journalists have on press access at the White House,” Leavitt said, acknowledging that the American people deserve a more diverse and inclusive representation of the media.
Critics of the move, including HuffPost editor-in-chief Whitney Snyder, decried the decision as a violation of the First Amendment and called for HuffPost’s reinstatement. Similarly, the WHCA’s president, Eugene Daniels, expressed concern that the administration’s interference undermined the independence of the press.
This action also comes on the heels of a dispute with the AP over the news agency’s refusal to alter its style guidance, a clash that underscores the growing tension between the administration and certain mainstream media outlets. However, the Trump administration has made it clear that it will not back down in its efforts to reshape the media access structure in a way that reflects the diverse viewpoints of the American people.