Big changes are coming to the White House once Donald Trump takes office—and that includes the briefing room.
Incoming Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stopped by Fox News’ Hannity Thursday night to tell guest host (and former Trump press secretary herself) Kayleigh McEnany that she is looking forward to welcoming new voices into the briefing room—including the “podcasters and social influencers” that helped Trump get elected in the first place.
“President Trump ran in an untraditional media lane on the campaign trail. It’s [a] big part of the reason he won, because he sat down with podcasters and social influencers and new voices that the American people are clearly listening to,” Leavitt said.
“And as President Trump’s press secretary we’re gonna find new ways to bring those voices into the briefing room as well, which I think will be a very effective way to continue to get the president’s message out to the American people.”
Throughout his 2024 election campaign, Trump notably sat down with a slew of contemporary media personalities.
In the final few days, Trump appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience, one of the biggest podcasts in the world.
That appearance came after interviews with comedians Theo Von and Andrew Schulz, streamer Adin Ross, the Nelk Boys podcast, and the Barstool show “Bussin' With The Boys.”
Some of those figures could be replacing traditional media reporters during press briefings, if Donald Trump Jr.’s post-election comments bear any weight.
In his podcast last month, Trump Jr. said that concept was actively being considered.
“We’re gonna break some news here because I literally had this conversation with—I was flying back, I was on the plane with my father, I think it was coming back from the SpaceX launch with Elon [Musk] last week," he told Daily Wire commentator Michael Knowles. “And we were talking about the podcast world and some of our friends and Rogan and guys like you.”
Welcoming new media voices to the White House isn’t a totally new idea, either. In August, President Joe Biden hosted social media influencers at the White House as part of a Creator Economy Conference.
They were also welcomed with open arms at August’s Democratic National Convention, with organizers rolling out what they termed the “blue carpet” for their own internet celebrities.
