Trump’s ‘dangerous’ reporter rules: Can journalists hold him to account?
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With certain journalists banned from attending White House press conferences for not toeing the line on Donald Trump’s whims and rules, what does it mean for journalists trying to hold the MAGA president to account?
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Read time: 4 mins
In brief…
- The News Agents say Trump has sent a “chill wind” through the US journalism industry, having banned publications from press conferences and launching legal action against a number of news outlets.
- Instead, attending key White House events are “super right-wing podcasts or cheerleaders for Trumpism” instead of some of the world’s most renowned publications.
- But, for those willing to play ball with Trump, The News Agents say he is a world leader who enjoys speaking with journalists, even if it comes at the risk of being insulted by the president.
What’s the story?
Holding Donald Trump to account is something The News Agents' Jon Sopel is all too familiar with – having previously worked in Washington as the BBC's North America editor before launching his award-winning podcast career.
But working as a journalist inside The White House is now a different game under Trump's second administration, with strict new rules imposed on reporters attending press briefings, small right-wing broadcasters permitted access to the president and major outlets banned if they don't conform to new MAGA rules.
In February this year, The Associated Press (AP), a leading news source across the world, was banned from attending events held in the Oval Office and on Air Force One because it refused to comply with Trump's renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the 'Gulf of America' in its reporting.
A legal challenge from AP is ongoing.
"Trump has undoubtedly sent a chill wind through American journalism, through the threats, and the actual action of litigation against journalists, of suing pollsters who come up with polls that he doesn't like," says Lewis Goodall.
Since his election win in November 2024, Trump has already launched (and won) lawsuits against a number of major US publications and broadcasters.
"It used to be the White House Correspondents Association who would decide who were the handful of journalists each day to go in and represent all the different news organisations," says Jon.
“What's happened since then is that Trump and the administration has said, 'no, we will pick who goes in'.
"It sounds so minor, but the net effect of that is when Zelensky came to town you had all these hacks from organisations that were super right-wing podcasts or cheerleaders for Trump-ism, and you get some jerk asking Zelensky, 'why aren't you wearing a suit?' And that is the atmosphere that the White House has created.
"If you start deciding who can come and who can't, that's dangerous."
Jon has faced White House exclusion himself, having once arrived for a press conference at The White House only to find he wasn't allowed in. The decision was challenged – and overturned – on First Amendment grounds.
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What's positive about Trump's relationship with the media?
While Trump might be tough to access if you've annoyed him, for journalists more willing to toe the line, there are benefits of having him as president.
Namely, he loves speaking to the press.
"As a political figure, there has probably never been a president who is more accessible to the press and for whom it is easy to put a question," says Lewis.
"Biden barely did a press conference, particularly after the first 18 months. Trump is never off the television. He's never not talking to journalists. He loves talking to the media. He loves being in the media."
This comfort with journalists is why The News Agents question his strict rules around access to organisations such as AP.
"The truth is, of course, that so little ever touches him," Lewis adds.
"No matter how good an interrogation it might be, no matter how pointed or accurate the questions that are put to him are, he is someone who defies the traditional scrutiny of a traditional politician.
"So even if it was full of his most vociferous enemies, I'm not sure that it would necessarily touch him or would be that much more of a problem for him than it is with his friends."
Jon adds that during the Covid-19 pandemic, when access to the White House press room was even more limited, Trump spoke with a handful of journalists for three hours or more.
"He loves it. And that is absolutely to his credit that he is prepared to take on all comers," Jon says.
"He'll be nasty to you, you know, call me 'another beauty' and all the rest of it, but it is to his credit that he will engage, and wants to engage."
Are journalists seeing anything similar in the UK?
While key British journalists are unlikely to be banned from attending political events in the UK, The News Agents say there was a shift towards small, right-wing outlets under the Tory government.
"I've experienced it plenty in Britain where there are favoured journalists," says Jon.
"We've seen it in the last few years, particularly under the previous government, particularly when outlets like GB News came along, and this particular plethora of more right-wing media that we've seen emerge."
Lewis says former Tory prime ministers – Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak, and even Liz Truss (briefly) – would "try and help these institutions get bigger" by giving them prominence at their press conferences.
"So in that sense, it's not different," he adds, saying Trump is taking it "to another level" at a time when media is more "fragmented" than ever.
"There isn't one national conversation anymore, but thousands of different conversations that are happening on our phones at all times, so the problem and the task of holding politicians to account has become much harder with any politician, let alone Donald Trump."
Listen to the latest episode of The News Agents.
