Pointing to a shake-up in the White House press corps, Vice President J.D. Vance appears to be admitting there is a take-the-gloves-off approach to liberal news outlets.
“If you're a propagandist for the Democratic Party,” Vance explained this week, “then we're going to treat you like a propagandist for the Democratic Party.”
In a friendly interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Vance was describing how White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is welcoming new voices to the press briefings in a room dominated by left-wing news outlets. He pointed out one of her first questions this week went to Matt Boyle, a political reporter from Breitbart.
Axios, Breitbart get first questions
The White House news beat, which includes one of 49 seats in the briefing room, is a coveted assignment by reporters of all political stripes. So is being picked for a question by the press secretary in front of TV cameras and your colleagues.
Boyle was seated for Leavitt’s first press briefing next to Mike Allen, executive director of Axios. It was not clear Tuesday who was technically sitting in a newly-named "new media" seat, but both journalists were in the room thanks to a new policy announced by the Trump administration. That new "new media" seat is not part of the permanent seats assigned by the White House Correspondents Association.
Allen asked the first question of the press briefing Tuesday followed by Boyle.
Regarding that newly-created seat, Leavitt said Tuesday it is open to anyone "producing news content, no matter the medium." She named TikTok creators, bloggers, and podcasters as examples.
In her second press briefing this week, held Friday, Leavitt said the White House has received more than 10,000 submissions for a turn in the "new media" seat.
The press secretary then took her first question from "new media" journalist John Ashbrook, a co-host of "The Ruthless Podcast." His first question, a softball one, asked the press secretary if the media is "out of touch" with the public over illegal immigrant deportations.
Vance advises old media to 'take the hint'
“If you're a reporter, even if you're biased toward the left, absolutely we want to answer your questions,” Vance, before criticizing Democrat “propagandists,” told Hannity.
Vance went on to suggest liberal news outlets need to “take the hint” that times have changed in politics and in news media, and he named MSNBC and CNN by name.
He compared those liberal news outlets to Joe Rogan, the popular podcaster who endorsed Trump on the eve of Election Day last year. Rogan supported Sen. Bernie Sanders eight years ago, Vance pointed out, so he is not some “crazy right-wing guy” but instead is a person willing to ask questions.
“Unfortunately,” Vance concluded, “most of the old media are just not interested in that.”
