U.S. President Donald Trump sits in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 7, 2025. REUTERS/Leah Millis (Left). Maggie Haberman, Image via Screengrab / CNN (Right).
Maggie Haberman, a journalist for The New York Times whose book “Regime Change” offered a detailed insider account of President Donald Trump’s administration, has previously profiled Trump’s hostility to expertise and obsession with remaking Washington D.C. in his image. Now, during an interview on The Media Confidential podcast, she explained how Trump has created a press environment in which many of the journalists who interrogate him are sycophants.
“It used to be that when it was groups of reporters covering the president, they would be able to have each other’s back,” Haberman said during the appearance. ”If somebody asked a tough question, you would know that the person next to you is going to follow it up or ask a version of it.”
Haberman added, “Now it’s you ask a tough question, a rigorous question, and the president filibusters for four minutes and then the next question is, ‘Sir, how are you so handsome?’ from one of these influencers, or ‘Sir, is it hard that the media is so unfair to you?’”
She concluded that this was “very much by this White House’s design.” As a result of their decision to stock their press pool with sympathetic far right journalists, they have created a “massive challenge” for everyone who could be considered a real journalist — that is, willing to ask tough questions of powerful people.
“It’s to everybody’s detriment, because many people rely on us for this coverage and he’s doing very real sit-down interviews and press conferences,” Haberman argued.
Haberman’s reporting here is similar to when she pointed out that Trump’s tendency to take advice from whoever is around him has caused him to become very erratic from a policymaking standpoint. He prefers people who praise him, and can then be manipulated by them — but this depends on proximity to the president, who rarely leaves the seeming sanctuary of the White House and the reporters who frequently go there.
"[Secretary of State] Rubio did tell people that he felt the need to be around Trump because, as you say, this is a very tiny group of people making decisions and you could be at the top level of a major Cabinet agency and have no idea what is happening if you are not in the room with him," Haberman said. "So, that is how Rubio has functioned. I don't know whether Trump will sour on him."