ICYMI: Vance Delivers Powerful Defense of New Media at First Post-Leavitt Briefing

Vice President JD Vance took to the White House Briefing Room podium Thursday afternoon in the first Trump-Vance administration briefing since Karoline Leavitt ended her remarkable tenure as press secretary and, with the great Nick Gilbertson from Breitbart in the “new media seat,” Vance used the occasion to offer a stirring defense of alternative media and voices outside the liberal elitist bubble who deserve space at the table.

Following opening remarks touching on issues such as the war in Iran and the work of the White House Fraud Task Force, he called on Gilbertson, who wanted to know what the administration will do post-Leavitt “to continue that legacy” of “bringing more voices, not less, into this room.”

Vance first called Leavitt “an amazing person” and as part of “the very cohesive team that we had working here” before expanding upon this revolutionary move that’s only possible because of the generation shift toward online communications:

[W]hy does [the new media seat] matter? I mean, if you look at one of the biggest transformations that have existed in this country over the last 20 or 30 years, it’s the rise of digital technology. Now, that means a lot of different things for a lot of different people. But for this industry, what it’s meant is that a lot of people have been able to get access to information, have been — been able to get access to telling stories to the American people, not because they have a credential or not because they have a connection, but because they have something interesting to say[.]

Vance correctly pointed out The Swamp has worked relentlessly “to lock out non-legacy media” because “[t]hey’ve seen it as a threat to themselves, and we actually think that it’s an amazing way to democratize access to information.”

Crucially, the Vice President reminded those watching and in the room that the First Amendment applies to all of us, not those with “a fancy credential or a lot of money” who’ve “not properly represented” the entire American populace.

Notice how, as part of another point emphasizing the access the President has granted the press, Vance also took direct aim at the liberal, elitist reporters in the room by telling them to their faces that “I know you guys, if you’re being honest, most of you are Democrats” (click “expand”):

You should not have to have a fancy credential or a lot of money to tell a story to the American people, and if you think of, like, the heart of the First Amendment is that all of us are allowed to speak, but if only some people are actually given a microphone, if only some media outlets are actually given access, then it strikes not just the heart of your ability to tell a story. It actually makes it harder for people to get access to their First Amendment rights, and, you know, with all due respect to all the people in this room, there are a lot of Americans who felt like they were not properly represented by the information that was on the airwaves, the traditional media, so we’re going to stay committed to that legacy.

We’re going to build on that legacy, and I think that you and a lot of other new media types should certainly expect to have a lot of access in the in the months and years to come, just as the traditional media does, and I do think, you know, not to not to brag on my boss too much, but I do think the President has set us about to be the most transparent administration in history, and we have done that with flying colors. If you just look back to the last administration, I mean, even the Democrats in the room, and I know you guys, if you’re being honest, most of you are Democrats, you would have to admit that the level of access, the level of access to the president of the United States, the Vice President, the senior team here, it’s just completely off the charts. Now, why does the President do that? He doesn’t do it just because, you know, he wants to or it’s fun, though. I think he definitely has a little bit of fun with it. He does it because he believes that part of governing a constitutional republic is to make yourselves accessible to the American people. So, we do that, and we’re going to do that with non-traditional media. We’ll continue to do it with traditional media, and that will certainly be a big part of our approach as we continue to govern the country, and, I think, govern it well.

That went right into Doocy Time, starting with a question as to whether Vance is auditioning to do this more regularly:

Before closing with a question about his diet https://x.com/CurtisHouck/status/2095577733199790459, Doocy also reminded viewers that, just because he works for Fox News, doesn’t mean he doesn’t know how to throw hardballs: “[I]t’s almost — it’s almost Labor Day. Labor Day is traditionally the real kickoff for campaign season. Midterm voters are looking for somebody to blame for high prices on things like gas, energy. Why shouldn’t they blame Republicans?”

Vance then deftly handled a tough question about gas prices from NBC’s Gabe Gutierrez:

CBS’s Weijia Jiang and The Washington Times’s Kerry Picket each had probing questions for Vance, with the former about his friendship with now-ousted Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and the latter bringing up Tucker Carlson:

Later, NewsNation White House correspondent Libbey Dean showcased the great people at NewsNation’s commitment to the people of East Palestine, Ohio, following the 2023 toxic train derailment:

Moving ahead in a briefing that was both respectful yet wholly substantive (imagine that), the last two questions went to OANN’s Daniel Baldwin about American manufacturing on a current eight-month-long streak of gains, and then Daily Wire’s Mary Margaret Olohan about the deportation of Milo and what Vance’s midterm elevator pitch would be to voters:

To see the relevant transcript from the September 3 briefing (including even more questions not covered in the blog), click here.