The Russian state media managed to get into the Oval Office Friday during President Donald Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The unauthorized journalist infiltrated the press pool only days after Trump called Zelensky a “dictator” and blamed him for Russia’s invasion.
On Tuesday the administration said that it would start handpicking which media outlets could enter the presidential press pool.
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Longstanding institutions like Reuters and the Associated Press were not allowed into Trump’s Friday meeting with Zelensky. Instead, a reporter from pro-Putin outlet TASS was somehow able to gain access and burst in.
The White House claimed that the incident was unplanned.
“TASS was not on the approved list of media for today’s pool,” said a White House official, adding that the press secretary escorted him out. But the administration has yet to answer how the unapproved reporter got in.
Trump has progressively restricted media access and originally stoked the fire during his first term for calling reputable outlets “fake news.” Now, he’s banning established organizations like the AP News for refusing to adopt the phrase “Gulf of America.”
He’s faced pushback from countless experienced journalists like The New York Times’ Chief White House Correspondent, Peter Baker.
“Having served as a Moscow correspondent in the early days of Putin’s reign, this reminds me of how the Kremlin took over its own press pool and made sure that only compliant journalists were given access,” said Baker on X.
He added that journalists may now be kicked out “if the president does not like our questions or stories,” raising critical concerns about the freedom of the press, a First Amendment right.
Trump has increasingly sided with the Kremlin, which has nearly been in power for 13 consecutive years and 21 in total. Trump, who has teased an unsanctioned third term, often aligns himself with Russia while criticizing Zelensky.
In the last few weeks alone, the U.S. has denounced its longstanding Ukrainian allies by repeatedly criticizing Zelensky, threatening U.S. support, and even resorting to a fiery shouting match with the politician on Friday.
The fight ended when Trump claimed on TruthSocial that Zelensky “disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.”
As the bloody war in Ukraine enters its third year, Zelensky continues to call for long-term and sustainable peace even if it means he has to step down.
The TASS incident on Friday is not the first time that the Trump administration has been tied with the Russian news agency. During Trump’s first term, he blocked all U.S. reporters from photographing a meeting between him and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Only a TASS photographer was invited in.
