White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt tried something new on Monday.
Not only did she address qualified journalists in the White House legend room, she also provided a separate "influencer briefing" for 10 people.
"Ten thousand Americans are turning to social media and independent media to consume news, and we are embracing this change, not ignoring it," she said in her seven-minute introductory speech. "Now all journalists, media and voices are now seated on the table, and the briefing you are here here today proves that."
But with the new briefing going on into the week, it was clear that a very specific group was given special access.
25 influencers identified by NBC News participated in the briefing, and all but one person had a clear history of support for President Donald Trump’s administration, and some had direct connections with Trump – by previously working in his administration, or by maintaining personal connections with his family or cabinet members.
"Where is the conservative tilt voice, and the Biden administration invites to the White House for similar activities? The fact is that traditional media is no longer unique to their anger at the flow of information," White House Deputy Commissioner Kaelan Door said in a statement. "We always find ways to meet people who they are, and no hit will discourage us."
Indeed, the Trump White House is not the first or merely interacting with influential people. Joe Biden also served as president, and once invited more than 100 content creators to discuss a series of issues.
But the current administration has embraced pro-Trump media more clearly, putting aside some traditional media to more control who can engage with the president.
"For decades, traditional media has access to all public media events and now new media is available," a White House official added.
In the first briefing, Trump’s former media secretary Sean Spicer, who has nearly 1 million followers on various platforms, was welcomed by one of the influencers. After praising Trump’s “commitment to transparency,” Spicer asked questions about Trump’s legislative priorities and why Trump continued to be interviewed by mainstream channels and publications.
In Tuesday's second briefing, two of the eight popular influencers had obvious links to Trump's current and former administrations. Link Lauren, who has more than 1 million followers on Tiktok and Instagram, served as Robert F. Kennedy, senior adviser to Health and Human Services during the presidential campaign. In the briefing, she threw a softball and asked Leavitt what advice she had for young professional parents like her.
In the same brief, former Treasury official William Upton took on a new role as political editor in the conservative publication The National Pulse, asking a question about the Trump administration’s rare earth minerals dealing with Ukraine.
In Wednesday's third briefing, one of the nine influencers present was 18-year-old Bo Loudon. Trump agent Gina Loudon and Bo Loudon, son of former Republican Missouri Senator John Loudon, called himself Barron Trump's "best friend" and appeared in many photos along with Barron Trump and the president. Loudon praised Leavitt among the influential crowd, calling her "Gen Z inspiration" and then asked her "big highlight" was "in the first 100 historical days."
There is also Newsmax host David J. Harris, who got Trump’s approval at the Black History Month reception in February because he was surrounded by “from day one” and former Fox News host Eric Bolling” Pauling denied the allegations.
Jack Posobiec, a longtime Trump supporter, promoted the debunked pizza conspiracy theory, and he also attended Wednesday's briefing. According to a copy of Posobiec filed by the Washington Post, he has been reportedly invited to travel with members of the Trump Cabinet.
Along with a good crowd, there are many other right-wing influencers and personalities.
Influential people Grant Grant Godwin and Rogan O'Handley followed a highly concerned conservative meme account @The_Typical_Liberal and @DC_Draino on Monday, asking about the Jeffrey Epstein archives and the campaign to implement the law to allow hidden guns in all 50 states.
Brendan Dilley was known for leading a pro-Trump meme team that created a controversial videotape in May 2024 that mentioned “creating a unified empire”, where he played a game of “truth or trolling” with Leavitt.
He was a highly followed conspiracy theorist on X after sharing child sexual abuse material Wednesday, asking Leavitt about the possibility of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton’s investigation into election integrity. Levitt welcomed the question and called it “refreshing.”
Jackson Gosnell appeared in Monday’s briefing and semi-regularly on the right-leaning One American News. On Tiktok, he has built a follower of more than 150,000 followers through videos, and he shares news in a more traditional way of news broadcasting. He said in a phone interview that he was surprised by the benefits of some other influencers for the Trump administration in the briefing.
"Some people are very complementary to the government. I took the approach of asking questions, rather than knowing more about complimenting speeches."
Gosnell asked a question about the status quo of the conversation between the United States, Ukraine and Russia, and he said his invitation came after he submitted his application through an online form shared on X by Leavitt. He said the White House contacted him a few days before the briefing and asked if he wanted to attend a special event with the news socialite.
Gosnell said there was no screening issue before the press conference, at least in his experience, a very unpleasant interaction. He said he was in the White House only during the press conference and was not guided before or after what should or should not be published.
The influential briefings received a big and important response online. Many on the left criticized them as right-wing tilted creators and individuals with a history of sharing controversial content. On the right, influencers like Laura Loomer criticized them for abandoning hardcore magazine influencers like her.
An influential right-wing PR staffer who asked not to be named to protect his clients said he advised influencers who worked with him not to attend the briefing.
"The whole reason the public turns to these influencers is because they want authenticity and truth. These briefs are the opposite of the truth," he wrote in a text message. "You won't be avant-garde or truth-clarifying person when you attract power on the most elite buildings on the planet. These briefs will backfire influencers and podcasts attend.