It’s been a challenging year for the mainstream press so far thanks in large part to the second-term Trump administration, which has played no games and made it clear the partisan antics that were attempted by the WH press corps during his first term were not going to be tolerated this time around, either.
We’ve seen this in myriad ways, among them being the decision not long after Trump was inaugurated that allowed for more New Media faces in the press briefing room and closer to the front, which included social media influencers and other alternative news sources such as podcasters and the like.
Another way has been in how the Associated Press has been handled over their refusal to use “Gulf of America” to describe the area formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico, with the Trump administration limiting their access at the White House in part over that issue as well as the AP’s documented bias in the left-wing terminology they use in both their stylebook and their reporting.
READ MORE–>> ‘Isn’t Just About Gulf of America’: Trump WH Elaborates on Dispute With the AP and It Makes Perfect Sense
And on Tuesday, as we reported, the Trump White House nuked another media “norm” by completely upending the White House Correspondents’ Association’s decades-long stranglehold on getting to decide which media outlets to include in the press pool and who gets to ask questions of administration officials on up to the president:
BOOM: Karoline Leavitt announces that press pool will now be determined by the White House not the WHCA
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) February 25, 2025
This has, of course, left members of the MSM in complete meltdown mode, with the New York Times’ Peter Baker even going so far as to suggest this puts Trump in Putin territory:
Having served as a Moscow correspondent in the early days of Putin’s reign, this reminds me of how the Kremlin took over its own press pool and made sure that only compliant journalists were given access.
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) February 25, 2025
Perhaps even more laughably, Baker proclaimed that what he views as “independent journalism” will go on despite this decision:
Important to note, though: None of this will stop professional news outlets from covering this president in the same full, fair, tough and unflinching way that we always have. Government efforts to punish disfavored organizations will not stop independent journalism.
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) February 25, 2025
Baker losing it prompted others to share their unvarnished thoughts on the MSM’s version of “independent journalism” during the Biden years:
The WHCA willingly went along with the Biden administration demanding reporters submit their questions ahead of time so they could formulate a response for a senile president. The idea they are playing the “Strong independent press” role is laughable. It’s beyond parody.…
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) February 25, 2025
The Biden operation did not have to take over because the press was already compliant. It’s easy to say this shit when your whole team operates as water carriers for the Democrats, i.e. pre-submitted questions; deflections on Biden competency; etc. etc. etc. https://t.co/suZwO4cljv
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) February 25, 2025
I’m old enough to remember when the Biden White House revoked 442 reporters’ press credentials
…and the WHCA responded with an “officially noncommittal stance” pic.twitter.com/y5F23BI1zd
— John Hasson (@SonofHas) February 25, 2025
Further, let’s not forget how many Beltway reporters were willing and eager participants in, under Trump 45, the Russia/Trump collusion hoax among other Democrat/media-pushed hoaxes designed to take down Trump for the crime of defeating Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Conveniently, the MSM has short memories but we don’t, and Trump 47 doesn’t, either. This is a shake-up that was long overdue, brought to you in large part by a corporate media that for decades has acted like a state-run organization under Democrat administrations and DNC mouthpieces under Republican administrations. Not an ounce of sympathy from this corner. Not one.
