By John Loftus, Daily Caller News Foundation | February 25, 2025
The horror … the horror.
The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA), one of the last bastions of power for vain liberal journalists who cover the White House and pretend to be staunch defenders of democratic norms, suffered quite a hit at Tuesday’s press briefing.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the administration’s press team will now determine which media outlets participate in the small, 13-member “press pool” who have access to the president in more intimate settings — not the WHCA.
WHCA president Eugene Daniels practically screeched in response, claiming the new protocol “tears at the independence of a free press.”
“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,” he said.
“To be clear, the White House did not give the WHCA board a heads up or have any discussions about today’s announcements,” Daniels went on to say. “But the WHCA will never stop advocating for comprehensive access, full transparency and the right of the American public to read, listen to and watch reports from the White House, delivered without fear or favor.”
It’s hard not to read his breathless statement without a bit of glee, without some schadenfreude. Oh no! You can’t gatekeep anymore and block out media outlets that challenge your narrative? What a calamity! This is the death of the free press.
Contrary to what its members believe, the WHCA is not some noble institution that holds president and his administration accountable. Rather, it’s more of a self-serving clique of high schoolers infatuated with themselves and intimidated by any new kids who might be cooler or smarter than them. WHCA cartel members relish in their supposed status as the high priests of fair and accurate reporting, and when someone threatens their power — as independent or conservative outlets have recently — they lash out like angry teenagers.
Tellingly, when former President Joe Biden’s administration nuked the press credentials of nearly 442 reporters in 2023, the WHCA literally did nothing, and maintained an “officially non-committal stance.”
Yeah, so much for defending the free press.
John Loftus is editor at large at the Daily Caller News Foundation
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