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President Donald Trump took the opportunity at the end of his first Cabinet meeting to urge a host of his favorite morning program to tell viewers that “we did a great job” and it was an “unbelievable” meeting.
Now that Trump’s press shop has seized power from the White House Correspondents’ Association and is handpicking reporters to fill the daily press pool, reporters from MAGA media and fringe outlets have suddenly been given increased access. The WHCA, meanwhile, has announced it “would no longer coordinate shared coverage” of the White House amid the ongoing dispute over media access.
“This board will not assist any attempt by this administration or any other in taking over independent press coverage of the White House,” WHCA President Eugene Daniels told association members. “Each of your organizations will have to decide whether or not you will take part in these new, government-appointed pools.”
Therefore, Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting featured not only Fox & Friends co-host Lawrence Jones as part of the press pool, but also reporters from right-wing outlets Newsmax and Blaze Media. Poolers from other organizations, including the Associated Press – which continues to be frozen out by the administration over Trump’s “Gulf of America” gripe – were left out.
Still, while the AP may not have had a reporter in the meeting room, the wire service did provide a live feed of the event – and it captured a hot mic moment that was missing from the White House’s official stream.
First flagged by Mediaite, the end of the AP feed shows an aide waving the press out of the room after the meeting concluded. At this point, Trump directly addressed Jones and began heaping praise on the Fox News personality.
“Lawrence! Look at Lawrence! This guy’s making a fortune! He never had it so good,” the president said before the two engaged in a bit of banter.
“Lawrence, say we did a great job, please. Okay? Say it was unbelievable,” Trump added right before the AP’s feed cut off.
During the meeting, Jones lobbed several softball questions Trump’s way, which included asking the president which of his Cabinet’s members was his favorite. At the same time, Trump also applauded the Fox & Friends host for wondering at one point whether he would fire all of the generals and command staff involved in the botched Afghanistan withdrawal.
“Well, that’s a great idea,” Trump replied before turning to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a former Fox & Friends Weekend host. “I’m not going to tell this man what to do, but I will say that if I had his place, I’d fire every single one of them.”
While Jones did not directly say that Trump’s first Cabinet meeting was “unbelievable” on Thursday morning’s edition of Fox & Friends, the MAGA host was still over the top with his praise for how the meeting was conducted.
“The president picked Cabinet members that can really present his ideas, their ideas clearly. He doesn’t have to worry about them going out and blowing everything up – everybody is on the same page,” co-host Steve Doocy noted during the broadcast.
“I find it great, too,” Jones reacted. “These are guys that normally – and gals – are used to communicating their ideas. They share the vision of the president and they are communicating it in such a succinct way. I don’t think we have seen this ever in an administration.”
