White House Confirms WHCA No Longer Decides Which Reporters Access Trump After Question from John Fredericks
By: Tom Pappert, The Tennessee Star
On the heels of obtaining confirmation the Trump administration will cease to allow the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) to manage the White House press pool, The Virginia Star publisher John Fredericks said the decision would destroy a “monopolistic, power-hungry cartel” that effectively managed media coverage of the president for more than “10 decades.”
In response to a question from Fredericks, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the administration will be taking control over the rotating schedule for the White House press pool, giving new media outlets the opportunity to travel with the president on Air Force One, enter the East Room of the White House, and ask President Donald Trump questions during special events.
“First of all John, it’s great to see you,” said Leavitt. “I did address that actually in my opening remarks, by announcing that the White House press team in this administration will determine who gets to enjoy the very privileged and limited access to spaces such as Air Force One and the Oval Office.”
She told Fredericks, “There are, as you know, look at this room, hundreds of journalists who show up to this building every single day, and are not granted that luxury of flying on Air Force One and asking the President of the United States questions.”
While Leavitt noted that “legacy media outlets” would continue to be represented among the White House press pool, Fredericks told The Star the decision marks a devastating blow to such networks and publications.
“In fifteen minutes, the Trump White House press team blew up the White House Correspondents Association’s monopolistic, power-hungry cartel that has been operating as king of the White House media for 100 years. They took control of the entire media operation at the White House under Woodrow Wilson in 1914,” said Fredericks, referencing the foundation of the WHCA in 1914, when it was established following a baseless rumor that claimed Congress planned to pass legislation limiting which journalists could attend Wilson’s press conferences.
As a result of the rumor, Fredericks argued the WHCA “usurped power with no authority and ruled the narrative for over 10 decades,” never being challenged by the intervening 19 presidential administrations “due to fear of reprisal, because [WHCA] controlled all the big media.”
He told The Star, “Now the game has changed permanently. No one cares what the people in the front row say; they’re fake news, their questions are ridiculous, and the majority of Americans are sick of them. That’s why they turn to outlets like ours to bring them the truth and ask legitimate questions. Up until now, we have been locked out of those by a bullying conglomerate that has shut out voices of the truth they don’t want to hear.”
Fredericks also said the move marks a victory for the National White House Correspondents Association (NWHCA), which was founded by One America News reporter and former White House correspondent Chanel Rion, which competes with the WHCA. Fredericks is a founding member of the group.
In a post to the social media platform X, Rion acknowledged the WHCA previously relegated her to the standing-only area of the White House briefing room, and said the entity sent her a cease and desist in a bid to stop her group from competing.
“Not only did I NOT receive an apology, they sent me a cease and desist letter ordering my alternative correspondents association NWHCA.press, to dissolve,” wrote Rion. “I doubled down, built a TENT, hired a lawyer. God’s Hand was on this all along.”
Watch Fredericks’ question to Leavitt:
WH Press Team & Trump Admin to Decide What Press Orgs Have Access to Oval Office & Air Force One
In response to Judge McFadden’s remarks on Monday suggesting that the Trump administration could throw out the entire White House Correspondents Association, @PressSec… pic.twitter.com/B9VceraaaB
— John Fredericks (@jfradioshow) February 25, 2025
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to pappert.tom@proton.me.