Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt urges TikTok stars, influencers to apply for White House press passes
An additional space for “new media voices” has been reserved at the White House, as Donald Trump declares war on traditional media.
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Donald Trump’s new press secretary has invited TikTokers and podcasters to apply for White House press passes, in an effort to reach beyond the mainstream media that the US president often slams.
In her first time at the White House podium, Karoline Leavitt said an additional seat for “new media voices” had been reserved at the front of the cramped briefing room.
Mr Trump has repeatedly criticised traditional media as the “enemy of the people,” and he credits a series of podcast appearances for aiding his return to the White House.
“As the youngest press secretary in history, thanks to President Trump, I take great pride in opening up this room to new media voices,” the 27-year-old Ms Leavitt told a packed briefing room.
“Whether you are a TikTok content creator, a blogger, a podcaster, if you are producing legitimate news content... you will be allowed to apply for press credentials to this White House,” she said.
The President’s son Donald Trump Jr. talked in November about “opening up” the press room.
The new press secretary also vowed to hold reporters accountable for what she said were “lies” about Mr Trump.
“We know for a fact there have been lies that have been pushed by many legacy media outlets in this country about this president, about his family, and we will not accept that,” she said.
The briefing at the iconic White House podium was Leavitt’s first since Mr Trump was inaugurated eight days ago. She has so far largely spoken to conservative television outlets including Fox News.
Mr Trump sidestepped interviews with some major US TV networks during the election campaign, opting instead to speak to several largely right-wing podcasts including the hugely popular Joe Rogan.
MADONNA SLAMS TRUMP FOR ‘DISMANTLING’ OF FREEDOMS
Superstar Madonna has blasted the Trump administration, describing the “dismantling” of the “freedoms” of the LGBTQIA+ community as “sad”.
The star took to X to express her dismay, just days after she surprised fans with a stand-up gig at New York’s Comedy Cellar during which she cracked jokes and made a swipe at the US President.
“It’s so sad to watch our new Government slowly dismantling all the Freedoms we have been fighting for and WON over the years. Don’t give up the Fight!” Madonna wrote on X.
SELENA GOMEZ HITS BACK AFTER DEPORTATION ‘THREAT’
Actor and pop star Selena Gomez has clapped back at the aspiring Republican senator who mocked her tears over the US deportation raids and suggested she might be next.
Gomez, 32, posted and then later deleted a tearful video to Instagram detailing her distress about US President Donald Trump’s operation to kick out illegal immigrants.
“All my people are getting attacked, the children. I don’t understand,” the former Disney child star sobbed.
“I’m so sorry, I wish I could do something but I can’t. I don’t know what to do. I’ll try everything, I promise.”
The viral clip has drawn the ire of many Trump supporters including senate candidate Sam Parker.
“Deport Selena Gomez,’ Mr Parker he wrote on X.
He followed the comment up with another post on his secondary account.
“Selena Gomez picked illegals over America b/c she’s the 3rd gen descendant of Mexican illegals who received citizenship in the ‘87 Amnesty,” he wrote.
“She has an entitlement attitude toward America, like her illegal g’parents. Maybe Selena should be deported, too?”
The Only Murders in the Building actor had a scathing response.
“Oh Mr Parker, Mr Parker. Thanks for the laugh and the threat,” she wrote on Instagram.
Gomez’s fans, known as the Selenators, have been inundating the would-be politician with rage-filled messages.
“I didn’t have “wage war against a bunch of r******* Selena Gomez fans” on my bingo card today. But here we are. I’m drinking their tears, now. #DeportSelenaGomez” Mr Parker responded using an ableist slur.
Mr Parker has also been retweeting vile anti-Semitic content in recent days, including posts which deny the Holocaust as the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz was commemorated.
SNOOP HITS BACK AT HATERS: ‘GET YOUR LIFE RIGHT’
Snoop Dogg addressed the backlash he’s received for performing at President Trump’s inaugural Crypto Ball earlier this month.
While listening to gospel music and smoking a joint in his car, the rapper said in an Instagram video, “For all the hate, I’m going to answer with love. Get your life right, stop worrying about mine.”
He continued, “I’m cool. I’m together. Still a black man. Still 100 per cent black. All out ’til you ball out or ’til you fall out … y’all can’t hate enough for me, I love too much.”
“We gotta learn how to pick each other up rather than put each other down. That’s what we great at as black people, we great at tearing each other down,” Snoop, 53, added.
“We can be up one minute and they try to put you down the next. But I’m a strong black man. You can’t tear me down. I’m one of God’s children … and I’m taking the Lord.”
While some critics continued to call Snoop a “sellout” in the comments, others showed support, writing, “We got you Snoop.”
“Keep your head up,” another chimed in.
Snoop, who currently has 88.1 million Instagram followers, lost more than 570,000 followers after performing at Trump’s pre-inauguration ball hosted at Andrew Mellon Auditorium on January 17.
SUITS STAR AND AUSSIE WIFE FLEE US
Suits star Gabriel Macht told People that he and his family moved out of the United States, but he is choosing to keep the location of his new home a secret.
“I am based somewhere in Europe, but I don’t tell anybody where I live because I like to keep that under wraps,” he said.
“I got out of town and we’re exploring the world.”
The actor, 53, explained that he and his Aussie wife, Jacinda Barrett, and their children found themselves “stuck” in Manhattan during the pandemic.
“We decided to explore the world, so we left.”
Following a long break, Macht will return to the role of Harvey Spector in the reboot, Suits LA, sharing that it made “sense” for his family to return now, and that he liked the idea of being able to “sort of pass the baton to Stephen [Amell] and the cast in L.A.”
EFFICIENCY BOSS BREAKS SILENCE ON QUITTING TRUMP CABINET
Vivek Ramaswamy says he quit the Department of Government Efficiency because he wants to run for the governor of Ohio – not because he had a fight with Elon Musk.
Mr Ramaswamy, 39, and Mr Musk were originally co-chairs of the department before Mr Ramaswamy stepped down.
He told Fox News there was no bad blood with Mr Musk.
“Well, the reality is, I’m pursuing an elected office very shortly. We will have an announcement soon,” Mr Ramaswamy said.
When pressed further about rumours of a rift with Mr musk, Mr Ramaswamy denied them again.
“I think that’s incorrect,” he said.
“But what I would say is, we had different and complementary approaches.”
Mr Ramaswamy denied Mr Musk had fired him.
“It’s – no, we had a mutual discussion. And I think I wish him well.”
OSCAR NOMINATED STAR SLAMS TRUMP’S BIG TRANS CALL
First-time Oscar nominee Karla Sofía Gascón and transgender woman has spoken out against Donald Trump’s anti-trans order.
“He is shameless,” Gascón told The Hollywood Reporter, decrying the divisive discourse surrounding trans issues in general. “I hope that whatever needs to happen happens to shut everyone up, on both sides.”
Mr Trump is expected to sign two executive orders prohibiting transgender service members from the armed forces and eliminating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs from the military, the New York Post reported.
Mr Trump had signed an order on his first day in office revoking the Biden administration’s 2021 directive that allowed trans people to serve openly in the military, but the incoming EOs will go further.
They lay out military standards on pronouns and gender identity and directly prohibit thousands of transgender service members from the military, citing issues with mental and physical readiness.
The Department of Defence is directed to make and implement the policy after Mr Trump signs the order.
“Unit cohesion requires high levels of integrity and stability among service members,” a White House document previewing the order on transgender soldiers reads.
There can be “no accommodation for anything less than resilience, strength, and the ability to withstand extraordinary physical demands,” it says.
“Individuals who are unable to meet these requirements are unable to serve in the military. This has been the case for decades,” the document says.
“It can take a minimum of 12 months for an individual to complete treatments after transition surgery... During this period, they are not physically capable of meeting military readiness requirements and require ongoing medical care. This is not conducive for deployment or other readiness requirements.”
Mr Trump’s administration pursued a transgender ban in 2018, but it was ended by the 2021 Biden executive order.
Mr Trump’s latest order directs Mr Hegseth to ban the “use of invented and identification-based pronouns” in the armed forces; prohibit biological males and females from sleeping, changing and using bathing facilities intended for the opposite sex; and “update all Department of Defence medical standards to ensure they prioritise readiness and lethality.”
A document on the second EO, addressing DEI in the armed forces, directs a ban on “discriminatory race- or sex-based preferences by any element of the Armed Forces, the Department of Defence, or the Department of Homeland Security.”
The order will ban all bureaucratic bodies dedicated to DEI in the military and will direct Hegseth and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to review all academic curriculums in US service academies to purge them of “radical DEI and gender ideologies.
“This Order also combats ideologies that seek to divide our Armed Forces by race, sex or other immutable characteristics and thus tear at cohesion and military efficacy.”
“All of this will be done with a focus on lethality, meritocracy, accountability, standards, and readiness,” Mr Hegseth wrote in his statement, echoing similar rhetoric used by the White House.
The US will also stop issuing gender neutral passports and identification with an ‘X’ marker.
Mr Trump has already been using the US military to carry out mass illegal migrant deportations and secure the southern border.
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Originally published as Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt urges TikTok stars, influencers to apply for White House press passes
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