President Donald Trump’s decision to ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters from the White House grounds is leading to claims that then-President Joe Biden revoked White House access to hundreds of journalists in 2023. But the claims online misrepresent the effect that a stricter White House Press Office policy had on the number of journalists holding long-term passes to the complex.
Here's a closer look at the facts.
CLAIM: The Biden administration
revoked the White House press passes of more than 400 journalists.
THE FACTS: This is false. In 2023, the White House revised its policy for obtaining long-term press passes. All journalists holding such passes were required to apply for a renewal under new criteria. This led to a drop in the number of journalists who had one.
There are two types of White House press passes. Hard passes are for journalists who cover the White House regularly. They require approval from the press secretary and a background check by the Secret Service, according to the White House Correspondents' Association, and are valid for an extended period. Those without a hard pass can request a temporary pass for specific events or on a day-to-day basis.
An email from the White House Press Office, sent in May 2023 during the Biden administration, notified those holding hard passes that it planned to “revise the policy on press hard passes to be consistent with that of prior administrations.” All hard passes that were current at the time would expire on July 31, the email read, and holders would be able to request renewals that would last for one year.
Applicants were required to meet specified criteria for approval, including full-time employment with a news organization, a physical address in the greater Washington, D.C. area, having accessed the White House for work at least once in the last six months, having an assignment to cover the White House on a regular basis, accreditation by a press gallery in the Supreme Court, Senate or House of Representatives, and a willingness to submit to any necessary investigation by the Secret Service.
Politico reported in August 2023 that the number of hard pass holders dropped from 1,417 to 975 after the change — a difference of 442. This included approvals from renewals and new applications.
A spokesperson told the outlet that the criteria were intended to ensure hard pass holders were actively working the White House beat, saying that “at the time we initiated this process in early May, roughly 40% of hard pass holders had not accessed the White House complex in the prior 90 days.” One person was denied a hard pass under the updated criteria, according to the spokesperson, but they did not identify who it was.
Jen Psaki, who served as the White House press secretary from 2021 to 2022, posted a TikTok video on Tuesday, calling the claims spreading online “total B.S.” and a “completely fabricated talking point.” She added that outlets often critical of Biden, including Fox News, Breitbart, One America News Network and Newsmax, all got hard passes under the new policy. She also noted in the video that “there were a lot of people with hard passes out there that had not used it in several years.”
Still, many on social media misrepresented the move.
“WHERE WAS THE OUTRAGE THEN? Biden's White House purged 442 reporters under new press credential rules and the media shrugged,” a popular X post reads. “Now Trump cuts off CNN and suddenly it is a constitutional crisis.”
Trump first denied CNN, MS NOW, and Politico reporters White House access on Saturday because of reporting he found to be “fake news.” All three outlets on Monday jointly sued his administration, calling the selective ban a “blatant violation” of the First Amendment. Trump said on social media that he "cherished” a free press but not “FAKE NEWS.”
In a Monday press release, Trump's White House cited the 2023 policy, among other actions taken by the Biden and Obama administrations against the media, as proof that “access changes are nothing new.” But experts say there are major differences.
“There is no fair comparison between President Trump deciding to try to ban journalists whose stories he doesn’t like, and President Biden establishing a system that ensured fair access for journalists, even ones who wrote stories he didn’t like,” said Peter Loge, an associate professor of media and public affairs at The George Washington University. “If the President always likes everything a reporter writes, that reporter isn’t doing their job. If someone doesn’t like to be criticized by the press, they shouldn’t run for president.”
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