Is the Trump administration about to curtail press freedom? | DW News

The Trump administration says it will start hand picking which news outlets get to join the presidential press pool -- that's a small group of journalists who have close access to Trump, for example in the Oval Office.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the change, which breaks decades of precedent. Normally the press pool is chosen by journalists from the White House Correspondents' Association. Leavitt said it was time to reflect changes in the media landscape.

The White House Correspondents’ Association has rebuked the move in a blistering statement, saying: “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. In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their own press corps."

Concern grows that the Trump administration is trying to limit access by major news organizations to the White House. The news agency the Associated Press is suing officials from the Trump administration over an order barring their reporters from the Oval Office or traveling on Air Force One. The reason for the barring was AP's refusal to call the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America, as Trump ordered when he took office. AP says it will retain the Gulf of Mexico as it has an international audience, but would also report the name change by Trump.

00:00 Associated Press to be barred from Oval Office reporting
00:44 Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary
01:09 White House Correspondents’ Association statement
01:33 AP refused Trump order to rename Gulf of Mexico
02:14 Seth Stern, Freedom of the Press Foundation

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Post from DW News on February 26, 2025

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