Former President Barack Obama went viral last week for slamming President Trump’s recent moves to yank media outlets out of the White House pool, questioning what the reaction would’ve been if he had done that during his presidency.
“Imagine if I had done any of this. Imagine if I had pulled Fox News’ credentials from the White House press corps,” Obama lamented during remarks at Hamilton College in New York Thursday.
“You’re laughing, but this is what’s happening.”
However, the Obama administration briefly attempted to limit Fox News’ press pool access early in his presidency.
In 2009, the Obama administration tried to block Fox News’ pool team from interviewing his “executive-pay czar,” Kenneth Feinberg, despite giving other outlets in the pool access while openly questioning the network’s status as a news organization.
“We see Fox right now as the source and the outlet for Republican Party talking points,” former White House Communications director Anita Dunn said at the time.
“And it’s fine if that’s, you know, how they want to build their business model,” Dunn said. “And we understand that. And it’s working for them and we understand that, as well. But we don’t think we need to treat them as though they are a news organization the way other news organizations here are treated.”
Ultimately, the other top TV networks protested, with CNN, ABC, CBS and NBC rejecting the White House’s plans to cut Fox News out of the interview with Feinberg.
Obama brushed aside his administration’s attacks on Fox News at the time.
“We’re going to take the media as it comes,” Obama told NBC News at the time. “And if media is operating basically as a talk radio format, then that’s one thing, and if it’s operating as a news outlet, then that’s another. But it’s not something I’m losing a lot of sleep over.”
Despite having an acrimonious relationship with the network, Obama did not attempt to rescind Fox News’ press credentials and gave multiple interviews to the conservative network.
Trump has become the first president in nearly a century to take an active hand in the White House pool reporter selection, something that has previously been decided by the White House Correspondents Association.
His team has cut off Reuters, the Associated Press and Bloomberg from their guaranteed pool spots and replaced them with one rotating position for wire services.
The Trump administration has used the two old wire service slots to create rotating “new media” positions for an assortment of outlets that didn’t previously have access to the pool.
Back in February, the White House informed AP it was getting cut off from an Oval Office event over its decision not to change its style guidance from “Gulf of Mexico” to “Gulf of America.”
The Trump administration also ejected HuffPost’s White House correspondent S.V. Date from its daily print pool reporter position in the middle of the night last month and replaced him with an Axios reporter.
Last week, reports emerged that the White House intends to take over the seating arrangement in the press briefing room, something that has also been managed by the White House Correspondents Association.
Since his White House exit, Obama has largely laid low, occasionally reemerging to criticize his successor, particularly during campaign season.
“Imagine if I had said to law firms that were representing parties that were upset with policies my administration had initiated, that you will not be allowed into government buildings,” Obama added during his remarks at Hamilton College.
“We will punish you economically for dissenting from the Affordable Care Act or the Iran deal. We will ferret out students who protest against my policies,” he added. “It’s unimaginable that the same parties that are silent now would have tolerated behavior like that from me, or a whole bunch of my predecessors.”
Over recent weeks, Trump has pulled security credentials from top political rivals, as well as law firms tied to his foes.
Last month, for example, he attempted to pull security clearances for Perkins Coie – a Democrat-aligned law firm that played a key role in commissioning the so-called Steele dossier. A judge later intervened.
Some law firms, such as Paul Weiss, have caved under Trump’s pressure. Paul Weiss agreed to give $40 million worth of pro bono legal services to the Trump administration after the president issued an executive order that effectively would’ve undercut its business.
Trump has also instructed US Attorney General Pam Bondi to probe law firms and lawyers that file “frivolous” lawsuits against his administration and come up with potential punitive measures his team can take.
“That kind of behavior is contrary to the basic compact we have as Americans,” Obama argued.
