The White House Correspondents’ Association condemned the Trump administration after The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg was reportedly blocked from serving as print pooler following an Oval Office clash with the president.
“The White House Correspondents’ Association strongly objects to the decision to restrict a journalist’s coverage simply because the president didn’t care for their questioning,” Jacqui Heinrich, a Fox News correspondent and WHCA president, wrote on X Wednesday evening. “That is retaliation. The American public’s right to an independent press depends on reporters being able to do their jobs without fear that challenging the president will cut off their access.”
A representative for the White House did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Heinrich’s statement followed a report from Semafor’s Max Tani, who reported Wednesday evening that Feinberg had confirmed to him that, “without explanation,” the White House said he would no longer serve as the print pooler for Trump’s upcoming trip.
The last-minute change followed a tense exchange between Feinberg and the president on Tuesday, in which Trump told the journalist: “Listen to you. Hey … I don’t know who the hell you are, but you better be careful.” He later referred to Feinberg as a “sick person” for his questions.
Feinberg had asked Trump a question about his Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, highlighting how the False Claims Act was already in place.
Feinberg later hit back at the president with a response on X, writing, “I had told him exactly who I was not five minutes before this exchange.”
I had told him exactly who I was not five minutes before this exchange. https://t.co/HvJIqGW9vn
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) October 20, 2026
He followed up this post with a piece for The Independent, writing, “For doing my job, I became the target of Trump and his team. Soon after, Trump lectured and unleashed at me his White House rapid response, who called me a ‘Mongoloid Moron’ – which is a slur for someone with development disabilities, a phrase I would never use – and the Vice President on his official government account labeled me an ‘imbecile.’”
He added: “For the record, I had an annual physical earlier this month, and I can report I’m in perfect health. I was doing my job, and I’ll be right back at it tomorrow.”
This is just one of Trump’s many attacks against the press from his second term. Not only has the president attempted to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, he has repeatedly lashed out – both in person and online – at individual reporters, including Kaitlan Collins, Maggie Haberman, Rachel Scott, Libbey Dean and Nancy Cordes.
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