The moment is a fraught time for the press corps and the WHCA itself.
The AP sued, with the WHCA supporting the case via a friend of the court brief.
DEADLINE: So a very simple question: What can we expect to see at the dinner?
Eugene DanielsMSNBC
Its going to look a little different for folks.
… Will there be moments of levity?
DEADLINE: When did it become clear that you had to drop plans for a comedian?
[Amber Ruffin was originally set for the dinner.]
DEADLINE: The White House was also out there attacking the comedian as well.
Was that a factor?
That wasnt a factor.
The White Houses objections to the comedian had nothing to do with our decision.
We stand up to the White House all the time.
DANIELS:No, no, not at all.
DEADLINE: I heard some people say, Why didnt the press just boycott the briefing?
Why wasnt more of a show of unity?
DEADLINE: Is there anything that you would have done differently before the White House made this move?
DANIELS:I dont know what we could have done differently.
They didnt come to us and ask us.
They didnt tell us, Hey, you know, lets talk about this pool.
Lets see what we can do here.
We were just as surprised as everyone else.
So there was nothing else for us to do.
DEADLINE: There were some members who said it feels like everyone is just on their own.
What was your response to that?
DANIELS:I dont want to talk about my response to Andrew Feinberg.
What he was talking about was a print pool email.
He wasnt talking about whether folks wanted to protest.
And people never missed out on the print pool notes, so folks were never on their own.
DEADLINE: What other issues, the seating.
Do you know what the status of seating in the briefing room?
DANIELS:Thats a question for the White House.
DEADLINE: The thing about the pool is there are incredible amount of logistics involved in that.
Whats your assessment on how the White House has handled that?
Im not going to kind of judge how good or bad the White House logistics are.
Anyone who would suggest that the WHCAs control of the logistics was bad is just completely inaccurate.
DEADLINE: What do you think the impact has been with the White House in control the pool?
DANIELS:I am not going to speak to what my friend Zeke said.
And we never fought that.
Its addition, not subtraction.
What were talking about here is something completely different.
And so what you have is the government choosing the people who ask the questions of the president.
That has not stopped.
DEADLINE: The administration keeps saying this is the most transparent White House in history.
I hear that from Karoline Leavitt a lot.
Do you agree with that?
We see President Trump a lot, right?
We hear from President Trump a lot.
What do you think has been the impact of that?
Our folks are still in the room asking the tough questions, and thats what matters.
I think at the end of the day, it doesnt matter.
What people say about me and how they treat me is not my focus.
