WASHINGTON — Taking the lectern in a  press briefing room full of reporters for the first time on Tuesday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced a series of changes to the way President Donald Trump's second White House will approach the media compared to administrations past. 

What You Need To Know

  • Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced a series of changes to the way President Donald Trump's second White House will approach the media compared to administrations past
  • Leavitt cited polling from Gallup showing record low trust in media and asserting that younger generations have turned away from traditional newspapers and television outlets to get their news
  • Among the new changes is the addition of two spots in the briefing for “new media voices,” who will take the seats on the side of the room traditionally reserved for White House staff
  • The administration also announced a website in which other unconventional outlets and journalists, such as podcasters and social media influencers, can apply for credentials to cover the White House
  • And the White House said it would restore the press badges of hundreds of journalists who had their credentials revoked by the last administration 

“In keeping with this revolutionary media approach that President Trump deployed during the campaign, the Trump White House will speak to all media outlets and personalities, not just the legacy media,” Leavitt said. 

Leavitt – who, at 27-years-old is the youngest-ever press secretary – went on to cite polling from Gallup showing record low trust in media and asserting that younger generations have turned away from traditional newspapers and television outlets to get their news.  

“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,” she said. 

Among the new changes is the addition of two spots in the briefing for “new media voices,” who will take the seats on the side of the room traditionally reserved for White House staff. At her first briefing on Tuesday, those seats went to reporters for Breitbart and Axios, who received the first questions. 

The administration also announced a website in which other unconventional outlets and journalists, such as podcasters and social media influencers, can apply for credentials to cover the White House, with Leavitt noting her team will review applications of those “who meet our criteria and pass United States Secret Service requirements to enter the White House complex.”

Leavitt also said the press office will restore the credentials of journalists, about 440, whose passes were “wrongly revoked by the previous administration.”

The announcements shed light on how the Trump administration will approach the press after months of speculation about whether – and, if so, how – the new team would shake up briefing room after the president embraced nontraditional outlets and journalists on the campaign trail – a decision that some credit with helping him reach younger voters. 

Leavitt pledged the White House’s commitment to the first amendment and touted Trump’s accessibility to the press since taking office just over a week ago.

This summer, the Democratic National Committee opened up credentials for content creators to cover its convention in Chicago for the first time.