The White House Picture Police
In late November, Karoline Leavitt strode into the briefing room, holding her young son in her arms. A few steps behind Leavitt was “Waddle” the turkey, who was set to receive the traditional presidential pardon, but first made a stop in the briefing room. “We have Waddle,” Leavitt exclaimed to the room full of reporters. “Come on in, Waddle!”
The turkey obliged, taking its spot next to the lectern in the White House briefing room as the tone in the usually serious room took on a playful tone. Reporters jokingly asked the turkey a series of questions. “Waddle, why are you getting a pardon? What did you do wrong?” one journalist asked.
Amid the fun, photographers snapped dozens of images of the scene. Among those many pictures of the Thanksgiving spectacle was one in particular that incensed the White House—setting off a remarkable chain of events, with the image ultimately being pulled from the AFP and Getty Images wire photo libraries, Status has learned.
The photo, snapped by AFP photographer Andrew Caballero-Reynolds, captured Leavitt…
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Related Knowledge Center: The White House vs. the press
Whether it’s the Des Moines Register’s publication of an unfavorable election poll, a routine edit of a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, or the Associated Press’s decision in its authoritative stylebook to continue to use “Gulf of Mexico,” Donald Trump and the White House have used executive authority and legal reprisals in an effort to punish and suppress press coverage that runs contrary to the administration’s preferred narratives.
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