Leavitt Sets Media Straight With Fact-Check on Joe Biden

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt highlighted differences in the media access provided by President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden, pointing to data showing that Biden participated in fewer formal press conferences and media interviews than recent presidents at a comparable point in his term.

Leavitt made the comments during an Axios event with co-founder Mike Allen, where they discussed changes to White House press-access policies and the administration’s approach to the presidential press pool.

Allen raised concerns about restrictions affecting traditional news organizations, including the Associated Press (AP). He noted that AP reaches a large global audience and that AP photographer Evan Vucci took the widely recognized photograph of Trump following the 2024 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“Do you worry about history being lost with these new restrictions?” Allen asked.

Leavitt rejected the characterization of the changes as restrictions.

“I don’t view them as restrictions. We view them as opening access to more outlets, more voices, more news, journalists and outlets,” Leavitt said.

She argued that a small number of organizations should not have permanent control over access to the White House briefing room or the 13-person press pool that covers the president in settings where space is limited.

“There are thousands of outlets who have White House press credentials. There are hundreds that actually show up every day and cover the beat,” Leavitt said. “Why should a single outlet have the privilege of being in that 13-person press pool every single day?”

According to Leavitt, the administration’s changes have provided more opportunities for print publications and other outlets to participate in the rotating press pool.

She said the changes were intended to broaden the range of journalists covering the administration and increase access for organizations that previously had fewer opportunities to participate.

“We’ve actually ensured that more print outlets like Axios have a greater chance of being part of that 13-person press pool,” Leavitt said.

Leavitt also argued that the public continues to receive regular coverage of the administration despite the changes to the press-access system.

“I think you’re all still getting your news, right? You’re still hearing about what the administration is doing every single day, because we have good journalists who are in that room covering the president every single time,” she said.

Debate Over White House Press Access

Allen then raised concerns expressed by the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) regarding changes to the role of wire services in the presidential press pool.

“The counter to that is in a White House Correspondents Association statement about the White House changes to the position of wire services in the pool. And the statement says the government should not be able to control the independent media that covers it. Do you agree with that statement?” Allen asked.

Leavitt responded that she did not believe the WHCA board should determine which journalists receive access to the president in limited-access settings.

“I think that a small group of journalists who comprise the board of the White House Correspondents Association should not dictate who gets to go into the Oval Office and who gets to ride on Air Force One. There should be equal access for all outlets,” Leavitt said.

She maintained that the administration’s approach was designed to expand the number and variety of outlets participating in presidential coverage.

“No one has been restricted. We’ve just given more spots to more outlets and more voices,” Leavitt said.

Leavitt concluded that the changes were intended to reflect the changing media environment.

“It’s not about ideology. It’s just about increasing the wide variety of outlets that have access. And we live in a digital age, and we’re recognizing that at the White House,” she said.

She added that Trump’s 2024 campaign relied heavily on nontraditional media and argued that the White House should continue engaging with a broader range of media organizations.

Biden’s Media Engagement

The discussion also referenced an Axios analysis published in July 2024 examining Biden’s media engagement during his fourth year in office.

According to data compiled by presidential scholar Martha Joynt Kumar and reported by Axios, Biden had participated in 164 press conferences and media interviews as of June 30, 2024. Trump had participated in 468 at the comparable point in his presidency. George W. Bush had 248, while Ronald Reagan had 262.

Axios also noted an important distinction in the data: Biden participated in numerous informal question-and-answer sessions with small groups of reporters. Kumar’s broader measure counted 588 such sessions for Biden, compared with 664 for Trump at the same point.

The Axios event where Leavitt discussed the administration’s press-access policies was held in April 2025. Axios reported that the White House had taken control of the rotation for the small presidential press pool, a responsibility previously handled by the White House Correspondents’ Association.

The debate over White House press access therefore involves two separate issues: the administration’s stated goal of expanding participation among different media outlets and concerns from traditional news organizations about government involvement in determining press access. Both perspectives have been part of the public discussion surrounding the policy changes.