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Chapter 1: What challenges do the press face with the Trump administration?
I'm joined by Jim Acosta. Hey, Jim, I got to ask you your perspective on these press briefings we've been seeing, the treatment of the press by the Trump administration. Have we reached the point where the press corps needs to boycott, the press room needs to just not show up? What do you think?
Yeah, I mean, I think we've reached a point now where, you know, I think the press needs to do a bit more. And that's a tough nut to crack. As I found, you know, covering him the first time around, you know, it's a little like herding cats trying to get everybody in the press corps to act in a uniform fashion.
Chapter 2: Why is banning the Associated Press a significant issue?
But when you have the White House banning the AP from the Oval Office, banning the AP from Air Force One, and just to explain this to people, I mean, the Associated Press, the AP, is an institution that's been around for over 100 years. They're in about 100 countries. They're in all 50 states. I believe their journalism is read and viewed by some 4 billion people around the world.
And just about every news outlet in the United States relies on the Associated Press. So when the White House kicks the AP out of the Oval Office, off of Air Force One, It has a major impact on the information that people are receiving around this country. And I just don't think it's something that should just be tolerated at this point.
I think that the AP should look at whether or not they should sue the administration. I think the AP needs to look at other options in terms of what can be done. And I think the rest of the press corps needs to start giving some serious consideration to whether or not it's worth sending everybody into the Oval Office, sending everybody on Air Force One, sending everybody into the briefing room.
And I know some of my friends over there at the White House press corps will say, hang on a second, how are we supposed to cover this guy? I understand that. It's difficult if we're not there. But, you know, I do think for a moment, let the American people out there see this image of this aspiring autocrat in the Oval Office surrounded by just his propaganda outlets and right wing hacks.
That's not a good look for him. And I'll tell you something else about Donald Trump, Ben. He cares about having those cameras on him more than just about anything else in the world. If the press were to take those cameras away for a day or two, I think that there would be a lesson learned on his part.
I think he would say, okay, maybe I ought to rethink this idea of kicking the Associated Press out of there if I can't have the cameras with me. And so I definitely think, you know, more can be done. Not saying a boycott tomorrow. I'm not saying anything drastic like that.
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Chapter 3: Should the press boycott the White House briefings?
But I do think some serious consideration needs to be given to, you know, doing a bit more to stand up for our friends at the Associated Press because they're such a valuable institution.
You think the Trump administration's attack on the AP, given their longstanding reputation, their distribution, their use by all of these other outlets, it's really an attack on all the other kind of major outlets out there trying to do reporting. That's why they're picking on the AP.
Chapter 4: How does the attack on AP affect other media outlets?
Absolutely. And I think they're trying to send a message. They're trying to say, listen, if you don't do things our way, there's a price to be paid. Now, I mean, we need to remind the viewers out there, the reason why they're doing this to the AP is because they refuse to call the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America, which is the dumbest thing.
I think if you were to come up with a list of the dumbest things that Donald Trump has done as president of the United States, renaming the Gulf of Mexico would have to be in the top five. I mean, you know, obviously telling people that they can inject disinfectants into their body, that's probably still at number one, that's the reigning champion.
But renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, I'd have to put it in my top five. And because the Associated Press won't go along with that because they're serious journalists and they're not here to do the propaganda for the aspiring autocrat in the Oval Office, that's why they're being punished. And I worry it's a test case.
I worry that if they get away with this, they're going to start doing it to other news organizations, other journalists, and then it's a slippery slope from there.
You've seen a lot of press secretaries in your day. Let's talk about Caroline Leavitt, the current holder of that position. It seems that every day she goes out there, takes another almost Q drop, I call him at this point is another lie from Elon Musk and then spreads it and just says it matter of factly. She goes on Fox and then spews the propaganda there.
I think Jesse Waters was bragging yesterday about the propaganda machine they created about how Elon Musk first posted and then the podcast bring it and then Fox brings it. Let me show you this video of Caroline Levitt, the short clip From her last night on Fox, where she lied about tens of millions of deceased people getting Social Security. This was quickly debunked.
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Chapter 5: What are the implications of misinformation from press secretaries?
But now all, you know, tens of millions of Americans now believe this the same way they believe there were condoms going to Hamas in Gaza. Here, play this clip.
He is now delivering on it. And I've been fighting fake news reporters all day long here in the Washington, D.C. swamp who are trying to fearmonger the American people into believing that this administration is going after their hard-earned tax dollars and their hard-earned Social Security checks. So I want to set the record straight.
Chapter 6: Who is Caroline Leavitt and what controversies surround her?
on your show tonight sean and i'm very grateful for the opportunity to do so president trump has directed elon musk in the doge team to identify fraud at the social security administration they haven't dug into the books yet but they suspect that there are tens of millions of deceased people who are receiving fraudulent social security payments jim what do you make of caroline levitt
You know, I mean, it's hard to see somebody out Spicer, Sean Spicer, or out Huckabee, Sarah Huckabee Sanders. But Caroline Leavitt, she's making a run for it. You know, she just might get on Trump's all-star team of liars. You know, she might be on the bench right now. But if she keeps working hard, if she does her homework, she just might make it onto the team.
It's a sad and sorry state of affairs, but what we're seeing right now from this White House is exactly what we saw during the first Trump administration. They performed for the audience of one, Ben. Sean Spicer did this.
As I used to say about Sean Spicer, the problem for Sean Spicer was not that Melissa McCarthy became Sean Spicer, it was that Sean Spicer became Melissa McCarthy in that caricature that we used to all laugh about on Saturday Night Live. Caroline Leavitt, unless they've already done it on SNL, I would have to think that something like that is in the works because the skit writes itself.
They're such bad liars. I mean, it's sort of like, you know, anybody has kids out there when your kid is telling you a tall tale and you're just looking at them like, okay, Johnny, sure. Yeah, I believe you. And you just walk away saying,
what the hell that that kid's you know not telling me the truth um that that's what's going on over at the white house right now but make no mistake they are performing for an audience of one and so she gets out in front of the cameras and starts telling the truth donald trump who is addicted to uh being on tv uh hearing about himself on tv reading about himself online he's
probably watching these briefings and and thinking to himself well wait a minute they can't go out there and tell the truth they have to tell it uh the way i i tell it which is you know all lies and it you know we're right back where we were in that first trump white house ben you know it is a very sad and sorry state of affairs and i feel i feel very sorry for the fact checkers out there because once again they're working in overdrive
And finally, let's talk about the promises that have already been broken. Donald Trump said that he was going to lower prices on day one. He said there was going to be all these jobs right away. We weren't going to know what to do with all of these jobs. He said that there would be peace in Ukraine in 24 hours.
Instead, Trump sends Marco Rubio to meet with Sergey Lavrov in Saudi Arabia and tries to cut out Europe. and Ukraine from that conversation. Nothing really came out of it other than some great photo ops for Russian propaganda. And what's Donald Trump been doing?
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