Why The White House Press Pool Must Boycott Trump

As the Trump administration replaces legitimate journalists with propaganda in the White House Press Pool, journalists only have one powerful tool and that is a boycott.

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We have been what we feel to be deservedly critical of the White House reporters who have given Trump a different set of rules and been overly deferential to him. White House correspondents prioritized their own access to the president and what they believed that access could do for their careers over protecting press freedom.

By trying to appease Trump, the White House correspondents opened the door to the administration taking over control of the press pool, and now that Trump has control, he is replacing objective outlets with right wing propaganda arms.

The White House Correspondents Association has consistently, but politely, criticized the Trump administration for its moves.

Even though the AP won in court, the administration continues to block them from entering the White House.

The situation is undemocratic.

Oliver Darcy of the Status newsletter talked about the idea of a White House Press Pool boycott:

The most potent tool the press has is collective action—namely, a boycott of pool coverage. That kind of protest would be most effective if led by the visual media arms: television networks and photojournalists, given Trump's obsession with being seen on television and in images. But such a move \is very unlikely. Outlets are understandably reluctant to cede ground as they want to cover Trump’s actions and inform the public as to what is happening in its government. Further, giving up access risks letting the administration replace the roster of journalists with pliant, MAGA mouthpieces. That would not just be disastrous for the newsrooms—it would be bad for the public at large.

And so the press corps is trapped in what can be described as an autocratic catch-22: Participate and risk legitimizing a rigged system, or exit and watch it get worse. The attacks from the White House, meanwhile, will only continue to mount.

Darcy is right. The odds of the television networks, which are owned by big corporations that have almost all caved to Trump in some way, agreeing to team up on a boycott are slim, but a boycott is the only answer.

The White House has done damage already by having Trump answer questions from heavily friendly outlets. If the other outlets stopped participating in the White House coverage, Newsmax, Fox News, and other right-wing misinformation factories would still be there, but legitimate journalists would be missing.

The harsh reality is that lawsuits haven’t worked. Objections and strongly worded letters haven’t worked.

At some point, the journalists will have to take a stand and a risk, because they are being slowly phased out and minimized by the Trump administration. If the White House Press Pool becomes ten legitimate journalists and twenty propagandists, the legitimate journalism will be drowned out or shunned by the administration.

The White House Press Pool tried to appease Trump for access, but appeasement never works with an authoritarian.

If the White House Press Pool doesn’t boycott, they will get pushed out the door and into oblivion.

What do you think the White House Press Pool should do? Share your thoughts in the comments below.