A dispute over a long-standing media practice in Washington has become a flashpoint in the broader struggle between the Trump administration and the press.
At the center of the controversy is the White House press pool, a rotating team of journalists who cover the president when it is not feasible for the entire press corps to be present. Traditionally, the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) has overseen this arrangement—but that changed this week.
On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the administration would now decide which journalists would be part of the pool. She argued that the WHCA had unfairly maintained a “monopoly over the privilege of press access.”
Leavitt framed the move as an effort to modernize the press corps, stating it was designed to align with “the media habits of the American people in 2025, not 1925.” She added that the White House sought to “restore power to the American people who President Trump was elected to serve.”
However, the WHCA and press freedom advocates see this shift in starkly different terms.
Critics argue that the administration’s move is a deliberate attempt to exert control over media coverage of Trump, prioritizing outlets favorable to the administration while sidelining those that take a more independent stance.
WHCA President Eugene Daniels warned that the decision “tears at the independence of a free press in the United States.” He added, “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.”
This battle over the press pool is emblematic of a larger pattern in Trump’s approach to the media.
Trump played a key role in redefining the term “fake news,” which originally referred to deliberately misleading content spread on social media for profit. He repurposed the phrase to discredit critical reporting, turning it into a rallying cry against mainstream media.
Although most presidents have had conflicts with the press, Trump’s hostility stands out.
During his first term, he frequently branded the media as “enemies of the people.” On multiple occasions, he shared memes depicting violent attacks on CNN, one of his main media adversaries.
Now, just over a month into his second term, Trump is engaged in a legal battle with The Associated Press (AP). The dispute stems from the AP’s refusal to adopt Trump’s preferred terminology for a body of water bordering southern Louisiana, western Florida, and eastern Mexico.
For decades, it has been known as the Gulf of Mexico. However, Trump issued an executive order renaming it the Gulf of America.
The AP has refused to comply fully, citing its large international audience and journalistic standards. The agency stated that it would continue referring to the Gulf of Mexico while acknowledging Trump’s executive order.
This stance did not satisfy the administration, which responded by barring the AP from key events and excluding it from the press pool.
The AP has challenged the decision in court. While a judge recently denied its request for immediate reinstatement, a full hearing is scheduled for next month.
Meanwhile, another media controversy erupted on Wednesday when Trump misrepresented a dispute involving CBS’s “60 Minutes” and former Vice President Kamala Harris during last year’s campaign.
Trump has sued CBS over an edited quotation from Harris that he claims constituted election interference. Many journalists argue that the edit was a routine practice used to accommodate time constraints.
During remarks on Wednesday, Trump alleged that CBS had manipulated Harris’s statements. “They gave her an answer … And they wrote out a—they put her words from another question that was asked about a half an hour later, and they put that into the question,” he claimed.
CBS, however, has denied any wrongdoing, stating that Harris’s words were not taken out of context.
Despite these various disputes, much of the attention in Washington remains focused on the White House press pool.
The pool was created out of necessity due to space limitations. The entire White House press corps cannot fit into locations like the Oval Office or Air Force One. As a result, a smaller group of reporters takes turns covering events and provides updates to the rest of the media.
Participation in the pool often comes with significant travel costs, which can be prohibitive for journalists from smaller or independent outlets. Those who are included typically follow a rotating schedule that is assigned on a monthly, alphabetical basis.
Following Leavitt’s announcement, a new controversy emerged when HuffPost revealed that its reporter, S.V. Dáte, had been removed from the press pool rotation.
Dáte had been scheduled to cover the White House on Wednesday but was informed late the previous night—after 10 p.m.—that there was “no room” for him in the pool. However, Axios ultimately took his place.
An Axios spokesperson later told Politico that the outlet had been “unaware” of the circumstances under which it was given the assignment.
As tensions escalate, the dispute has sparked rare moments of media solidarity.
Conservative outlets such as Newsmax and Fox News have publicly supported the AP’s efforts to challenge the White House’s restrictions.
On Tuesday, Fox News Senior White House Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich issued a warning to right-wing social media users who cheered the Trump administration’s press pool decision.
“Just wait til a Dem admin plays that same game. You’ll hate it,” Heinrich posted on social media.
