The White House is continuing its pressure on the free press
-Article by Sean Heart, december 16, 2025
It is no secret that The White House under President Donald J Trump, has a very strained relationship with the free press. The first notions of a strained relationship came even before his first term, and in 2016 in a heated exchange he called CNN´s Jim Acosta “a real beauty” and then went on to call CNN “fake news”. Donald Trump is also known to incite his audiences at his rallies to boo the press, and even calling the press “the enemy of the people” at a Johnstown Rally in 2024.
Through the years the pressure has gotten more systemic, and even extends to the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, during her press briefings at the White House. In one of her latest attacks she commented on December 11, that the press was more interested in pushing untrue narratives about the president, than reporting the true information about the inflation, and that the press is more critical at her briefings than they were under Biden. A claim which conflicts with verifiable record, as the Biden administration faced very tough questions about inflation from the press during his presidency.
Pressure on press freedom increased in February 2025, when White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration would “take control of who gets access to the White House press pool.” This came soon after the Associated Press lost access to some pool events, including the Oval Office and Air Force One, after it refused to use the administration’s new name for the Gulf of Mexico. Press-freedom groups said the timing of these moves raised concerns that access was being limited based on editorial views.
One might expect the White House to focus elsewhere these days, yet recent actions suggest an ongoing effort to publicly challenge and discredit elements of the press. The administration has highlighted mistakes made by news media on official White House platforms, a move critics describe as an attempt to shame or undermine journalists rather than engage with them. Combined with recent restrictions on press access, press-freedom advocates argue this reflects a broader pattern in which the administration treats the press as an adversary, rather than recognizing its role as an asset to the American public.
