New Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, In First Briefing, Cites “Record Low Trust” In Legacy Outlets And Says New Media Reporter Will Get Front-Row Seat

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, in her first White House press briefing this afternoon, promised greater access for independent journalists, podcasters and social media influencers.

Displaying the results of a Gallup poll on a video monitor showing record low trust in media, Leavitt said that “it’s essential to our team that we share President Trump’s message everywhere and adapt this White House to the new media landscape in 2025.”

Leavitt said that a seat in the briefing room — previously occupied by the press secretary’s staff — would be designated as the “new media” seat. The first person to occupy it, though, was Mike Allen, co-founder of Axios and a longtime veteran of Beltway media coverage.

Leavitt promised to “work diligently” to restore press passes that were “wrongly revoked” by the previous administration. Policies were changed by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre after one reporter, Simon Abeta, repeatedly disrupted briefings.

Leavitt said that those eligible for the White House passes would be open to “new media voices who produce news related content and whose outlet is not already represented by one of the seats in this room. We welcome independent journalists, podcasters, social media influencers and content creators to apply.”

More to come.