The Washington Examiner’s Byron York contended that the first White House press briefing since President Donald Trump returned to office should have been a “breath of fresh air” for all journalists in attendance, regardless of their outlets’ political leanings.
Tuesday’s briefing featured White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announcing the restoration of 440 journalists’ press passes that had been revoked under the Biden administration. Additionally, she highlighted the Trump administration’s welcoming of “new media” to apply for press credentials and join the briefings alongside long-standing and established media outlets.
“To compare today’s briefing to every briefing of the last four years of the Biden administration, in which the spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre either would not, or could not, engage with reporters on a daily basis,” York told the Ingraham Angle. “Today was an absolute breath of fresh air — it should have been for reporters of any stripe.”
York noted a stark contrast between Jean-Pierre and Leavitt.
“Remember in the Biden White House press corps, there was a secret that the president was not up to the job. And all the press was either looking the other way or claiming that he was when he was not. And the Biden administration kept very, very close hold on all sorts of information, as far as the press was concerned, which was happy to look the other way,” York said. “So, today was just an absolute complete explosion of openness and sunshine.”
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In addition to recognizing the open engagement with the press, York pointed out that “questionable” claims from reporters will be “questioned in turn.”
“Their premise of the question will be questioned,” he added. “So, that’s a big, big deal. It really suggests that you’re just going to have much, much different interactions between the Trump White House and the press in the briefing room.”
