MAGA media rules White House briefings after Trump purge
White House press briefings have turned into a playground for pro-MAGA outlets as the Trump administration has worked to sideline legitimate media organizations over the last four months.
Instead of reporting that provides the public with a clear picture of the inner workings of the administration, the MAGA press corps seeks to push conservative falsehoods and bigotry while attacking the right.
Outlets known for lying to the public like Breitbart News, The Daily Wire, and Zerohedge have been given prime access to top officials, including President Donald Trump. And correspondents with ties to extremists like Steve Bannon have become the administration’s go-to for amplifying lies and hate.
The sea change in the White House briefing room is coinciding with the Trump administration’s efforts to freeze out legitimate reporting. The Associated Press was banned from covering Trump events and announcements after it declined to incorrectly label the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.”
While AP successfully argued in court that the Trump administration was squelching its First Amendment rights, the White House responded by usurping the independent press pool organized by the White House Correspondents Association.
The Trump administration will now control who is allowed to contribute pool reports, which are used by multiple outlets, meaning that pro-MAGA outlets will likely purge unflattering facts about Trump’s actions, which were included in previous pool reports.
Under press secretary Karoline Leavitt, the pivot has favored figures like right-wing podcasters Shashank Tripathi, who has promoted dangerous lies about hurricanes, and Tim Pool, who has promoted hate and conspiracy theories.
Leavitt and other administration officials have used media events to elevate lies, like falsely claiming that the Biden administration spent tax dollars on condoms in Gaza, or alleging that the wrongly deported Maryland father Kilmar Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 gang leader.
When the press corps is infested with MAGA outlets, such assertions are not questioned—they are praised and amplified.
The New York Times recently released a compilation of the absurd ways in which these outlets “question” the administration.
For instance, Cara Castronuova of billionaire crank Mike Lindell’s LindellTV praised Trump for looking “healthier than ever before.”
Similarly, a reporter from conspiracy site The Gateway Pundit praised “the success that ICE is having.”
And Monica Luisi of the pro-GOP group Turning Point USA pushed the Trump administration’s anti-trans agenda, complaining that “not one Democrat [sic] senator voted to protect women’s sports.”
But things aren’t much better among corporate media.
Outlets like the Washington Post are being pivoted to accommodate the MAGA agenda under pro-Trump billionaire Jeff Bezos’ leadership, while ABC News’ corporate parent Disney paid out a cash settlement to Trump instead of defending its reporters. And the hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” visited Trump to kiss his ring after he won the 2024 election.
As the Trump administration more openly embraces an authoritarian agenda, disappearing people based on speech and ethnicity, the media is willingly swaying further right.
It is a toxic state of affairs, and it’s worsening by the day.