Trump's MAGA-friendly press corps

The increased access comes as part of the Trump administration's push to elevate "new media," which includes nonpartisan digital outlets like Axios and Semafor but also Trump-aligned outlets.

• The new approach yields more supportive questions, fortifying the MAGA media ecosystem from the inside out.

The big picture: The shift comes amid the administration's war on traditional media — including lawsuits, access restrictions for AP, and access reductions for Reuters and Bloomberg.

Zoom in: MAGA podcaster Jack Posobiec has traveled with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to Ukraine and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to the northern border.

• ZeroHedge, a finance blog that U.S. intelligence accused of spreading Russian propaganda in 2022, was tapped by the White House for the "New Media" slot in the press pool last Thursday.
• Matthew Foldi of the Trump-friendly Washington Reporter tweeted Tuesday, when he sat in the White House's "new media" seat: "@POTUS is truly well served by his all star comms team."
• Breitbart's Matthew Boyle has scored exclusive interviews with Trump, Vice President Vance and several Cabinet members.
• Mary Margaret Olohan, The Daily Wire's new White House correspondent, accompanied Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to Panama. Raheem Kassam, The National Pulse's editor-in-chief, was also on the trip.
• Natalie Winters, the White House correspondent for Steve Bannon's "War Room," is all over the White House complex.

What they're saying: Reporters for these outlets often ask questions that mirror administration rhetoric. Trump is often elated to hear reporters speaking his language.

• During a briefing this month, Cara Castronuova, who works for an outlet run by MyPillow founder and Trump loyalist Mike Lindell, asked about Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett's position "against Jan. 6 hostages."
• Before Trump's annual physical last week, Castronuova told Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt that Trump "actually looks healthier than ever before, healthier than he did eight years ago, and I'm sure everyone in this room could agree. Is he working out with Bobby Kennedy, and is he eating less McDonald's?"

Brian Glenn, the White House correspondent for Real America's Voice, poured fuel on U.S.-Ukraine tensions by asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office whether he owned a suit.

• In Trump's White House meeting with Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Glenn asked: "Ireland is known for very happy, fun-loving people ... Why in the world would you let Rosie O'Donnell move to Ireland if she's going to lower your happiness level?"

The big picture: The administration's strategy also reflects the evolving ways Americans digest news. Traditional outlets' readership and viewership have dropped, while some podcasters and upstart websites reach millions of people.

• "The Trump administration is departing from those previous norms because those previous norms don't make any sense any longer in the modern media environment," said Kenneth Miller, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
• "The legacy outlets have lost their importance. And so for the White House, why pander to their preferences? The way that they reach voters — and the way that they reach their supporters — is through these newer outlets."

The other side: White House officials note that Trump and his staffers still take hard-hitting questions.

• White House assistant press secretary Taylor Rogers said: "There has never been a White House that communicates as often and as openly with the American press [as] President Trump."
• "The president and the press secretary take questions from all outlets and have given more journalists a chance to cover this White House than any other administration before," Rogers added.