The White House Correspondents’ Association said it is “disturbed” the Trump administration excluded wire services from joining the president on his trip to the Middle East, noting that it is a “disservice” to Americans who rely on those outlets for news about their commander-in-chief.
“For the first time since the White House press corps started traveling with American presidents abroad, no wire service reporter is aboard Air Force One today,” the WHCA said in a statement on Monday evening. “As the president travels across the ocean for high-stakes meetings in the Middle East, the White House has decided not to include any wire reporter on the presidential aircraft.”
The WHCA’s statement came after outlets like Bloomberg, Reuters and the Associated Press were left off President Trump’s flight to Saudi Arabia; the president is also planning on visiting Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on his trip.
In its statement, the WHCA lamented that smaller outlets that depend on wires like the AP — which has more than 1,300 affiliates — are particularly hurt by the lack of access.
The exclusion of the wire services on the trip comes as the Trump administration has changed several aspects of the White House-press relationship in recent months. Notably, the Trump administration has been feuding with the AP over the outlet’s refusal to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” following the president signing an executive order changing the gulf’s name on government documents. The administration excluded the AP from the Oval Office over its decision — a move that has since led to the two sides battling in court. And last month, the Trump White House said it will no longer guarantee a spot in the press pool for wire news services.
You can read about some of the “new media” members who have been included in the White House press briefings by clicking here.
