Vice President Vance Addresses Media Access in the White House
While speaking to reporters before heading to a campaign event in North Carolina, Vice President JD Vance addressed concerns about media coverage from the White House. He suggested that not providing certain media outlets with special access doesn’t infringe on their free-speech rights.
A reporter questioned him, asking, “How is this not an attack on free speech?”
Vance responded, clarifying:
They still have the ability to report on the Trump administration, access public reports, and communicate with individuals both inside and outside the White House. The president has made it clear that special access within the White House will not be granted. If we look back at the Biden or Obama administrations, you could compare outlets like Politico and Breitbart. Both have been quite critical—Politico towards Trump and Breitbart towards Obama or Biden. So, I wonder why Trump should offer Politico special access when no one expected the previous administrations to do the same for Breitbart? It comes down to fairness.
According to recent discussions, media access has seen significant shifts, particularly pointing to a more transparent approach under Trump compared to the Biden administration’s practices.
In 2023, Biden’s press team reduced the number of media personnel with “hard passes” to the White House from 1,417 down to 975. A report noted this cut, highlighting Simon Ateba, an African journalist who had notable exchanges with the former Press Secretary during news briefings.
Additionally, the story underscored how the new policy added obstacles for journalists, requiring daily submissions of personal information to the White House.
In January 2025, newly appointed Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made a significant change by including new media outlets in briefings, often giving the first question to organizations like Breitbart and popular podcast hosts.
Vance referred to a study from Newsbusters, which indicated that 92% of the media’s coverage of the second Trump administration was negative.
“What he’s doing is basically saying if you’re going to participate in what is essentially propaganda… considering that 92% of their stories about this administration are negative, that doesn’t reflect the views of the American public. So why should a Republican White House give them special access?” Vance argued.
Last Friday, Trump announced a ban on CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, which resulted in immediate backlash from those outlets when they found their press passes invalid the following day.
On Monday, those outlets even escalated their response by initiating a federal lawsuit to reclaim their access. Members of the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) voiced their concerns, with President Jacqui Heinrich urging the Trump administration to reconsider its decision, warning that such exclusions could set a precedent affecting all media outlets in the future.
Additionally, other major news networks, including ABC, CBS, Fox News, and NBC, declared a boycott of providing pool coverage for the president.
Ironically, Heinrich’s own network, Fox News, had previously published an article noting that Trump’s return had significantly increased media access compared to the Biden era, with numerous press interactions being reported.
According to the data, Trump has engaged in at least 433 press events, ranging from formal speeches to informal exchanges outside Air Force One, where he rarely shies away from questions. This count excludes brief interactions, such as those with foreign leaders.
Vance reiterated, “They still have the opportunity to report and exercise their freedom of speech. They just won’t have an office in the White House anymore.”
