The early morning hours of August 21, 2026, found Air Force One soaring over the Pacific Ocean, en route to Anchorage for a refueling stop before the final leg to Joint Base Andrews. The president and his entourage were returning from an intensive tour of Asia, which included high-profile meetings with China’s president Xi Jinping and Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi, as well as the presentation of a monumental gold crown.
Above the Alaskan wilderness, White House communications director Steven Cheung gazed out at the Northern Lights, their emerald hues painting the night sky. He captured the moment on X, posting a photo with the caption: “BEAUTIFUL!” Nine minutes later, he followed up with another tweet, this one directed at a journalist who had criticized a pro-Trump commentator: “Didn’t you get fired from CNN for banging a source?”
Cheung’s Belligerent Approach and Its Implications
Cheung’s tweet was just one example of the aggressive and trollish tone that has come to define the White House communications team in Trump’s second term. Moments before his exchange with the journalist, Cheung had labeled a former Trump official “a loser” with “no pull, no juice, no stroke.” Hours later, he took aim at the “failing New York Times” and accused a reporter of having “Beta cuck vibes.”
This combative style is emblematic of a communications team that operates as a direct extension of Trump’s own id. “It’s the Barstoolification of the White House press shop” one White House reporter observed. “It’s what the boss wants. It’s what the base wants.”
The Departure of Karoline Leavitt and Its Impact
Despite the public belligerence, the White House press team has maintained a professional relationship with the press, thanks in large part to press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Leavitt, known for her ambitious and unapologetic style, announced her imminent departure earlier this month. Her exit leaves a significant void, as she has been the administration’s indispensable broker with the press, balancing Trump’s confrontational approach with a behind-the-scenes professionalism.
Leavitt’s tenure has been marked by a duality: while she has turned the White House podium into another front in Trump’s war on the media, she has also been a trusted intermediary. Her departure raises questions about the future of White House communications, particularly with Cheung set to become the most prominent figure in the press shop.
The Press Shop’s Aggressive Public Posture
Cheung’s tenure has been characterized by a series of provocative and often crude remarks. He has regularly mocked CNN’s ratings, to the point that a CNN executive reportedly asked him to stop. Last fall, he told a New Yorker writer to “shut the fuck up.” His comments have ranged from suggesting that liberal influencer Harry Sisson might enjoy a spanking to calling a former House Republican a “dildo.”
The press shop has also adopted Trump’s habit of assigning crude nicknames to reporters. Garrett Haake of NBC News is often called “Garrett Fake” a term that has even made its way onto the calendar when he is scheduled to meet with White House officials. During the 2026 campaign, two female reporters were dubbed “Alienhead” and “Pigface.” The name-calling has spilled into public view, with MS NOW reporter Jake Traylor being called “Fake Jake Traylor Trash” on X.
Restrictions on Press Access
The press shop has paired its aggressive public posture with a campaign to restrict access. Upon taking office last year, the team seized control of the press pool, banned the Associated Press, and flooded the briefing room with pro-Trump influencers. The White House also barred reporters from “Upper Press” the suite of offices down the hall from the Oval that houses the press secretary and other senior aides. These restrictions have limited reporters’ ability to obtain impromptu information from high-ranking officials or to check in with the communications team during breaking news events.
Leavitt has had her own moments of combative partisanship, including replying to a reporter’s request for comment with a “your mom” joke and labeling reporters she doesn’t like “left-wing hacks.” She has also been a staunch defender of Trump’s personal attacks on reporters, including his instructions for CNN’s Kaitlan Collins to “smile” and his attacks on New York Times reporter Katie Rogers and Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey.
The Professionalism Behind the Scenes
Despite the public pugnacity, some journalists maintain that Leavitt’s sunny professionalism off-camera has helped keep the communications shop operational. “I’m just being completely honest with you, I like Karoline” says one top White House reporter. “I think she’s charming and funny and gossipy, and her behind-the-scenes persona is totally different from the Baghdad Bob rants at the podium.”
The operation that Leavitt oversees is an instinctive extension of Trump himself, who has spent decades attacking reporters in public while fielding their calls to gossip with them in private. “This is an administration and president that craves the adulation and approval of mainstream media” another White House reporter says. Earlier this year, Trump invited four reporters from The New York Times, a newspaper he is suing for $15 billion, into the Oval Office for a nearly two-hour interview. This courtesy also extends to The Wall Street Journal, which he’s suing for $10 billion.
“They want to be seen as beating up on the press” a third White House reporter says. “But behind the scenes, they’re super professional. They take reporters’ calls, they interact with reporters, even if they’re from outlets that might not write the best thing about them. They understand the need to talk with the press, to spin the press, and they understand that just shutting down reporters results in worse coverage rather than better coverage.”
Leavitt’s close access to the president has been a key factor in her effectiveness. “She was in every meeting with Trump, she was read in on every decision” one reporter explains. “And that helped her work with reporters she had a relationship with.” Cheung, too, is particularly close with the president and works well with reporters he has relationships with.
With Leavitt’s departure, Cheung will exercise singular influence over White House communications. The shifting power dynamics are already apparent, with the White House lashing out at a CNN reporter who asked Trump a question about his aide Natalie Harp. An official White House X account called the reporter a “disgraceful, humiliating embarrassment to her alleged profession” and invoked her children in a follow-up post. There was a sense internally that the statement had crossed a line, with Leavitt objecting to the post. But it was not taken down.
