White House correspondents protest lack of wire reporters on Air Force
One
[May 13, 2025]
The group representing White House journalists said Monday it was
disturbed that the Trump administration barred any wire service news
reporters from traveling with the president on Air Force One to the
Middle East.
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President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md.,
on his way to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP
Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) |
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No reporters from The Associated Press, Bloomberg or Reuters
were on the plane, where presidents often take questions from
traveling members of the press.
“Their reports are distributed quickly to thousands of news
outlets and millions of readers throughout the world every day,
so all have equal access to coverage of the presidency,” the
White House Correspondents’ Association said in a statement.
“This change is a disservice to every American who deserves to
know what their highest elected leader is up to, as quickly as
possible.”
The White House has been fighting in court with the AP, after
the news service was blocked from covering smaller “pool” events
when it decided not to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to
Gulf of America, as Trump had called for in an executive order.
In response to a ruling in that case, the White House instituted
a new media policy that lumped the wire services in with print
reporters in a rotation for space on Air Force One or Oval
Office events. A Reuters reporter accompanied the president when
he traveled to Pope Francis' funeral.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not return
messages seeking comment.
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