White House Blocks AP & Reuters – New Media Restrictions Explained

Today, as the world looks at the outcomes and key pointers reported by various media sources, news is coming out of the White House that the White House has barred major news agencies, including AP and Reuters, from covering the President’s first cabinet meeting of Trump 2.0.

According to the report by Reuters, Journalists from Reuters, HuffPost, and the German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel were denied entry. An AP photographer was also blocked. But reporters from Axios, Newsmax, NPR, Bloomberg, and The Blaze were allowed to attend this first cabinet meeting.

The Trump administration recently announced a new policy giving the White House control over which media outlets can access smaller spaces like the Oval Office. Previously, the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) managed the press pool system, ensuring fair media representation.

A joint statement from AP, Bloomberg, and Reuters called the decision a threat to democracy. “It is essential for the public to receive news from an independent, free press,” the statement read.

HuffPost criticized the move. This decision came after a recent controversy where AP was removed from the White House press pool for refusing to call the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America,” a name introduced by Trump.

An official statement from the Trump administration came where White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the policy. She said this happened because of the rotating seats policy, the administration is including new media outlets and radio hosts.