Trump Returns to White House Correspondents’ Dinner Amid Intensified Press Campaign

Since his second inauguration, Trump has sued several outlets it deems hostile. Claims include $10 billion against the Wall Street Journal, $15 billion against The New York Times, and a $10 billion case against the BBC slated for trial next year; the first two were dismissed. Ongoing suits also target CNN and the Pulitzer Board, while FBI Director Kash Patel sued The Atlantic for $250 million. The administration secured settlements of $15 million from ABC and $16 million from Paramount.

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In the month after Trump began his second term, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the White House would control daily press-pool assignments, ending the White House Correspondents’ Association’s rotation—a move critics say adds to the administration’s broader attempts to browbeat the press. Hours later, HuffPost reporter S.V. Dáte and a Reuters journalist were removed and replaced by Axios, The Blaze and Newsmax. The change followed a dispute in which Dáte asked about the Budapest venue for a Trump-Putin meeting; Leavitt responded with a schoolyard joke echoed by Communications Director Steven Cheung. Leavitt later wrote the question was amusing and dismissed Dáte as a far-left hack. In November, President Trump told Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey to be quiet with a derogatory phrase and later described a female New York Times author as ugly and third-rate.

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Federal agents arrested former CNN host Don Lemon and independent journalist Georgia Fort in January, charging Lemon with conspiracy related to a Minnesota church protest. The FBI also raided Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s home, seizing devices after Attorney General Pam Bondi rescinded a policy limiting search warrants on journalists. Concurrently, the FTC opened an investigation of Media Matters for America, a watchdog group that has incurred $15 million in legal fees defending against related lawsuits.

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White House officials have framed the press-pool changes as an effort to broaden outlet access, while dismissing criticism as politically motivated. Bondi presented her policy reversal as restoring lawful investigative authority. Press organizations and the Associated Press have condemned the scheduling changes, arrests, and raids as threats to press freedom; the AP filed a lawsuit after being barred from several events, alleging retaliation.

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Trump is slated to attend the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday, his first appearance at the event as president. The pending BBC lawsuit will proceed to trial next year, and the Natanson raid remains under judicial review.

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• “Your mom did,” — Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary

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• “your mom” — Steven Cheung, White House Communications Director

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• “Quiet, piggy!” — Donald Trump, addressing Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey

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• “ugly” — Donald Trump, describing a New York Times author

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• “third rate reporter,” — Donald Trump, describing the same author

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