Trump removes Independent reporter from Air Force One press pool
President Donald Trump’s communications staff has removed The Independent’s White House correspondent from the traveling press pool scheduled to cover his trip to Iowa for a campaign rally on Thursday, reports BritPanorama.
Correspondent Andrew Feinberg was notified by the White House Press Office on Wednesday evening that he would “not be the print pooler on tomorrow’s trip” despite his scheduled rotation being confirmed days earlier.
The brief notice concluded with a polite, “Thank you for your understanding.”
This notification followed an incident the previous day, when Trump berated Feinberg inside the Oval Office, instructing him to “be careful” after the reporter posed questions that the president found objectionable. Trump referred to Feinberg as a “sick person,” further stating, “I actually think there’s something wrong with you.”
An official White House rapid response account on X described Feinberg as a “Mongoloid Moron,” while Vice President JD Vance labelled him an “imbecile” in a Tweet.
The decision has drawn significant backlash, with the White House Correspondents’ Association stating, “strongly objects” to restricting a journalist’s access simply due to their line of questioning. President Jacqui Heinrich remarked, “That is retaliation,” emphasizing that the public’s right to an independent press is contingent upon reporters performing their duties unimpeded.
The Independent marks at least the third outlet to be removed from Air Force One lately amid the Trump administration’s increased threats to media access, exacerbated by an ongoing high-profile lawsuit aimed at overturning what the president has branded a “ban” on various media outlets.
A federal judge recently ordered that press passes be restored to several journalists from CNN, Politico, and MS NOW, highlighting that the revocation was likely in violation of the First and Fifth Amendments.
Despite the ruling, reporters from CNN and Politico still find themselves barred from Air Force One on days their outlets are scheduled to provide coverage of the president’s travel.
The administration has attempted to draw a line between the removal of specific reporters and outlets, but this distinction has been rejected by the courts, especially in context of providing pooled coverage on Air Force One.
In a recent interview, Trump denied any legal violations regarding press access. White House communications director Steven Cheung clarified that restoring press passes does not equate to the restoration of access on Air Force One or events within the Oval Office.
The administration has previously asserted that flying on Air Force One is a “privilege not a right,” defending Trump as “the most accessible President in American history” while promising an unprecedented level of access to the press.
Prior to departing for a campaign rally in South Carolina on Wednesday, Trump again lashed out at press members, including calling CNN’s Kaitlain Collins a “low IQ person” and a “dummy.”
Additionally, he criticized a reporter from ABC News as a “stupid person,” asserting, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Last week, Judge Timothy Kelly determined that the president likely overstepped legal boundaries by revoking press access for CNN, MSNOW, and Politico. Following this, the administration initiated an appeal, setting the stage for a complex legal battle over reporters’ access to the president.
While the Department of Justice argues the outlets were banned for national security reasons, such claims have not been articulated by Trump himself. The White House only raised these concerns after a lawsuit was filed against the ban.
In his recent ruling, Judge Kelly noted that the president’s public justifications for the “ban” were indicative of targeted discrimination against the outlets based on their critical coverage, a move he condemned as “unlawful viewpoint discrimination.”
Trump is slated to appear at a campaign rally in Sioux City, Iowa, on Thursday, promoting U.S. Senate candidate Ashley Hinson, gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn, and other Republican office-seekers on the ballot.
