Podcast host says he received 'eye rolls,' 'smirks' from reporters during White House briefing debut
2025-02-01
Category: political

"Ruthless" podcast co-host John Ashbrook made a big splash at Friday's White House press briefing as a member of the "new media" the Trump administration has welcomed, to the chagrin of some reporters. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt kicked off the briefing by revealing President Trump's press office had received "more than 10,000" applications for the recently announced "new media seats," reserved for "independent journalists, podcasters, social media influencers and content creators." She then rolled out the red carpet for Ashbook to ask the first question of the day from the new media seat. He took the opportunity to ask if the legacy media is "out of touch" with the American people. "In your first briefing, the media went after this administration for deporting illegal immigrants they claimed were not criminals," Ashbrook began. "The question is, do you think they're out of touch with Americans demanding action on our border crisis?" TRUMP WHITE HOUSE ROLLS OUT SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT TO HOLD ‘FAKE NEWS ACCOUNTABLE’  "The media out of ouch?" Leavitt responded with a smile. "I think that media is certainly is out of touch and I think that's proven by a number of things, John." Leavitt went on to point to a New York Times poll showing "83%" of Americans supported deportations of violent criminal illegal immigrants, adding that "97%" of the deportations carried out by the Trump administration so far had deportation orders from the previous administration, according to ICE.&nbsp; Ashbook, a former campaign strategist to Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., shed light on what it was like to be in the briefing room during an appearance on "The Will Cain Show" that afternoon.&nbsp; "I've interacted with a lot of these same reporters as a press secretary back in the day. So, when I walked into the room, I saw a lot of eye rolls and a lot of smirks and that is exactly what I was hoping for, Will," Ashbrook told Fox News' Will Cain.&nbsp; ‘RUTHLESS’ SKYROCKETS TO #1 ON POLITICAL PODCAST CHART DAYS AFTER POLITICO RUNS HIT PIECE ON CONSERVATIVE SHOW  "At the Ruthless Variety Program, we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We like to have fun and deliver information in a humorous way… I was hoping to have a little bit of a lighter moment in there and I think we had it."&nbsp; The "Ruthless" co-host praised the White House's embrace of "new media," saying Leavitt and her team are making sure that "we the people have a voice inside that room."&nbsp; "It's a brand-new day in the media," he added.  CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "When Elon Musk declared ‘you are the media now,’ the Ruthless Podcast took it to heart. It was a stroke of genius by this White House to incorporate more voices in the briefing room," Ashbrook told Fox News Digital. "Yet another way President Trump is keeping his promise to change Washington, and a huge opportunity for we the people to have a voice in our government."