Karoline Leavitt Fires Back at NYT Reporter Over Trump-Putin Analogy [WATCH]

The Trump administration’s decision to overhaul how reporters gain access to the White House press pool has sparked outrage among mainstream media figures, with some drawing comparisons to authoritarian regimes.

The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA), which previously controlled vetting for the press pool, has been removed from the process, allowing broader access for previously excluded outlets.

During a press briefing on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reassured reporters that legacy media organizations would still have access.

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However, she emphasized that the administration was opening the opportunity to other outlets as well.

“Legacy outlets who have participated in the press pool for decades will still be allowed to join, fear not,” Leavitt said.

“But [the White House] will also be offering the privilege to well-deserving outlets who have never been allowed to share in this awesome responsibility.”

@PressSec announces changes to the “press pool” that covers President Trump:

“For decades, a group of D.C.-based journalists — the @WHCA — has long dictated which journalists get to ask questions of @POTUS in these most intimate spaces. Not anymore.” pic.twitter.com/fHd5Wkm3nE

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 25, 2025

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The announcement was met with strong reactions from members of the mainstream press.

Among them was New York Times chief White House correspondent Peter Baker, who likened President Donald Trump’s decision to press restrictions imposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Having served as a Moscow correspondent in the early days of Putin’s reign, this reminds me of how the Kremlin took over its own press pool and made sure that only compliant journalists were given access,” Baker wrote on Twitter/X.

Leavitt quickly responded to Baker’s comparison, calling it an overreaction.

“Give me a break, Peter. Moments after you tweeted this, the President invited journalists into the Oval and took questions for nearly an hour,” she wrote.

“Your hysterical reaction to our long overdue and much needed change to an outdated organization is precisely why we made it. Gone are the days where left-wing stenographers posing as journalists, such as yourself, dictate who gets to ask what.”

Give me a break, Peter.

Moments after you tweeted this, the President invited journalists into the Oval and took questions for nearly an hour.

Your hysterical reaction to our long overdue and much needed change to an outdated organization is precisely why we made it.

Gone… https://t.co/dsR4fLWjpD

— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) February 25, 2025

Baker’s reaction follows broader criticism from mainstream media figures who have expressed frustration with the Trump administration’s press strategy.

The change comes amid ongoing tensions between the Trump White House and legacy outlets, many of which have opposed the administration’s policies and approach to media relations.

Baker is married to New Yorker writer Susan Glasser, who previously criticized Trump’s debate claim that then-Vice President Kamala Harris supported taxpayer-funded gender surgeries for illegal immigrant transgender inmates.

Harris had, in fact, backed such policies.

Glasser also recently faced pushback from Vice President JD Vance after she accused Trump of “erasing the past” by removing a portrait of former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley.

Despite the backlash, Trump has maintained frequent engagement with the press, including multiple on-camera appearances and question-and-answer sessions.

He has taken questions from various media outlets, including mainstream networks, both in the Oval Office and at public events.

CNN’s Brian Stelter, a longtime advocate for press access under Democratic administrations, even appeared to complain about Trump’s visibility.

On Super Bowl Sunday, he commented on the President’s omnipresence in the media cycle.

“Think about it: A year ago you could go days without seeing or thinking about Joe Biden. Now you’re lucky if you can go hours without thinking about President Trump. He’s inescapable. And that’s just how he likes it. Today: The Super Bowl is also the Trump Bowl,” Stelter wrote.

Think about it: A year ago you could go days without seeing or thinking about Joe Biden. Now you’re lucky if you can go hours without thinking about President Trump. He’s inescapable. And that’s just how he likes it. Today: The Super Bowl is also the Trump Bowl

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) February 9, 2025

The Trump administration’s decision to bypass the WHCA represents a significant shift in White House press access.

While legacy media figures continue to push back, the administration has made clear that it intends to open up opportunities to outlets that were previously excluded from covering the presidency.

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