Fact Check: Was photographer who took Donald Trump's fist-pump photo ejected from White House press pool?
WASHINGTON, DC: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced in February 2025 that there will be a change to how the news media covers the POTUS.
According to her, the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) would no longer be in charge of selecting journalists for the White House press pool, and President Donald Trump's administration would pick the members of the press pool.
Following this, a claim about photographer Evan Vucci, who took the picture of Trump with a raised fist after an attempted assassination at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last year, being barred from the White House's press rooms has been circulating online. But is there any truth to this? Let us find out below.
Claim: Photographer who took Donald Trump's fist-pump photo ejected from White House press pool
On March 27, many social media users claimed on X (formerly Twitter) that the photographer, who took the iconic image of Donald Trump after he survived an assassination attempt while campaigning in Pennsylvania in July 2024, is no longer allowed to be in the president's press rooms, Snopes noted.
An X user posted the picture and captioned it, "The photographer who took this is no longer allowed to be in Trump press rooms lol."
The post has so far received more than 1.9 million views and around 100,000 likes.
the photographer who tooks this is no longer allowed to be in Trump press rooms lol pic.twitter.com/5XnariN1NK
— Joseph (@MingAutocrat) March 28, 2025
The X user also posted the source that inspired the claim, which was a Politico story titled "He took the iconic Trump fist-pump photo. Now he's fighting Trump to be allowed back in the Oval Office".
Fact check: The claim is partially true as Evan Vucci was barred but still has access to WH's primary press briefing room
Evan Vucci was barred from the White House press pool alongside his colleagues. Due to this, he lost access to the Oval Office, Air Force One, and other important locations the president frequents, according to Snopes.
However, Vucci still has access to the White House's primary press briefing room, per the fact-checking outlet.
Moreover, the story by Politico, which was shared by the X user, is also true.
Donald Trump's White House’s new press policy
In February 2025, the White House planned to determine which news outlets have access to Donald Trump as they took control from an association of journalists after more than a century, according to BBC.
As per the changes announced by Leavitt, the White House will decide which outlets participate in the "pool" that covers presidential events and shares material with other media outlets.
The rotation of journalists was earlier determined by the WHCA, which stated that the decision "tears at the independence of a free press."
Leavitt said in the news briefing in February, "The White House press team in this administration will determine who gets to enjoy the very privileged and limited access in spaces such as Air Force One and the Oval Office."
She added, "Legacy media outlets who have been here for years will still participate in the pool, but new voices are going to be welcomed in as well."
Leavitt said the changes would allow "new media" outlets, including streaming services and podcasts, to "share in this awesome responsibility," per the outlet.
