The White House was flooded with over 7,000 press pass applications Wednesday after Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s announcement that the briefing room would now be welcoming independent journalists, social media influencers, and podcasters.
“In keeping with this revolutionary media approach that President (Donald) Trump deployed during the campaign,” Leavitt said, “the Trump White House will speak to all media outlets and personalities, not just the legacy media, who are seated in this room.”
Leavitt pointed to Gallup polling that Americans’ faith in mass media has reached historic lows and that news consumption has shifted toward alternative platforms.
“Millions of Americans, especially young people, have turned from traditional television outlets and newspapers to consume their news from podcasts, blogs, social media, and other independent outlets,” she said. “It’s essential to our team that we share President Trump’s message everywhere and adapt this White House to the new media landscape in 2025.”
One of the most immediate and notable changes includes the reinstatement of 440 journalists whose press passes were revoked under the Biden administration. In addition, the White House is actively inviting creators who previously had no access to the prestigious briefing room.
“We welcome independent journalists, podcasters, social media influencers, and content creators to apply for credentials to cover this White House, and you can apply now on our new website, whitehouse.gov,” said Leavitt.
The restructuring aligns with Trump’s media strategy during his re-election campaign, which largely bypassed traditional press outlets in favor of internet-based interviews and podcast appearances to engage younger voters.
Leavitt assured that the new policy would create a “more equitable briefing room” where voices outside of legacy media will have the opportunity to engage directly with the administration.
Her first round of questions went to reporters from Axios and Breitbart, a symbolic move in shifting favoritism to non-legacy outlets.
Not everyone is welcoming the change. Current members of the White House press corps have expressed uncertainty and frustration regarding how the expansion of media credentials will impact access and journalistic oversight, according to The Hill.
