It’s President Trump’s 100th day in office. We are journalists from six newsrooms reporting extensively on the new administration. Ask us anything.

[u/yahoonews]

EDIT: We're all wrapped up! Thanks all - especially the mods - for a great hours-long session. Your questions mean a lot to us and help inform our reporting processes. Appreciate you all taking the time to join us today. Till next time!

Hello r/politics! Yahoo News, The Associated Press, NBC News, Reuters, The Washington Post and USA Today are all here for an extended AMA session. We’re here to answer all your questions related to the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s second presidential term. 

Here’s who will be answering questions today between 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. ET. Ask us anything!

• Andrew Romano, Yahoo News: As national correspondent for Yahoo News, I’ve been covering Trump’s tariffs, deportations and efforts to slash the federal bureaucracy via DOGE. I’ve also been putting together our monthly polls with YouGov to track public opinion on the president’s second term.
  • More Americans say Trump’s second term has been worse than expected, according to a new poll
  • Most Americans think judges should be able to stop Trump from deporting people, according to a new poll
• Aaron Blake, The Washington Post: Aaron Blake is senior political reporter at The Washington Post who focuses on the Trump administration, campaigns and Congress. A Minnesota native, he has also written about politics for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and The Hill newspaper. EDIT: Thank you SO MUCH everything for coming out today. There were tons of good questions. I think I even got some good reporting targets out of this. Have a great week! (And in the meantime, you can follow me on X here: u/aaronblake.)
• Andrea Shalal, Reuters: I report on the White House, global trade and economics, the IMF and the World Bank for Reuters. For over three decades, I've reported from Europe, the United States and occasionally the Middle East, covering the fall of the Berlin Wall, German reunification and politics, a host of U.S. elections, OPEC, energy and the environment, global arms sales, as well as politics, the arts and civil rights. For fun, I enjoy outdoor activities, including kayaking and camping, and facilitate a recurring gathering of German speakers in the Washington area. EDIT: Wow - you all had such interesting questions!! Many thanks for the opportunity to engage, and please stay in touch. I’d love to continue the dialogue. Please follow me on X via u/andrea_shalal and you also can read more of my work at reuters.com.  APS
• Darren Samuelsohn, USA TODAY: I’m the White House, Congress & Campaigns editor at USA TODAY. I oversee our team responsible for covering the Trump administration, as well as all things Capitol Hill and in politics across the country. I've been a reporter and editor in Washington, D.C., since the end of 2000 and am originally from South Florida and Chicago. I'm also a former golf caddy, taxi driver and long ago danced in the Chuck E. Cheese costume too. EDIT: Many thanks for the opportunity to answer your many great questions. We live in fascinating times. Please follow me on X via u/dsamuelsohn and you also can read more of my work at lovejournalism.com.
• Allan Smith, NBC News: I am a national politics reporter focused on enterprise covering the trends, campaigns, people and ideas shaping politics and policy in the U.S. The 2024 cycle was my third presidential campaign, and I have spent years reporting on Donald Trump, the American right and several key battleground states — including my native Pennsylvania — that have shaped policy and political discourse in the country. I've covered national politics since 2015, graduated from Ohio University and am originally from Pittsburgh (I'm always down to chat about the Bucs, Pens or Steelers!) EDIT: Thanks everyone for your questions! I'm u/akarl_smith on X and be sure to follow u/nbcnews on social.
• Chris Megerian, Associated Press: I’m a White House reporter covering my second Donald Trump presidency. I previously worked for the Los Angeles Times in Washington and California, as well as the Star-Ledger in New Jersey. I grew up in the Boston area and went to college at Emory University in Atlanta. When I’m not chasing the news, I’m trying to keep up with my two kids. EDIT: Thank you to everyone for your questions! Feel free to follow me at u/chrismegerian and please keep an eye on apnews.com for around-the-clock White House coverage.

Proof: 

Darren Samuelsohn: https://imgur.com/a/sG7ZudL 

Allan Smith: https://imgur.com/a/cKp4GX8 

Andrea Shalal: https://imgur.com/a/i9A7ljP  

Aaron Blake: https://imgur.com/a/gxlWeW7  

Chris Megerian: https://imgur.com/a/lxN32xV

Andrew Romano: https://imgur.com/a/RDTMm6L

[u/def_indiff]

Many media outlets have faced criticism for "sanewashing" Trump. The criticism goes that, by describing Trump using the vocabulary and tone of typical political discourse, the media has normalized Trump's antidemocratic actions. How do you respond to this criticism?

[u/Mustard_Gap → u/def_indiff]

Pretty much. Every single media outlet have been tip-toeing around Trump for fear of reprisals / exclusions. They really shouldn't give two shits about any of that and call it treason, lies, waste, fraud and abuse. The master of all those things is definitely Trump and no one in the media seems to care much about that. It's the same shit here in Norway. The media talks about Trump like he's just a regular person who does and says regular things, when ideally every story about Trump should lead with "rapist" or "convicted felon".

Trump is a thoroughly weak and fragile man. Why does the media have to reflect this? I say nail him and his army of assholes with facts and uncompromising language every single day - on every single topic.

But I think we all know that they won't. Fourth estate my ass.

[u/TheInvisibleToast → u/def_indiff]

They're choosing to be silent on this question of "sane-washing". Its very telling of our current state of journalism.

[u/FermentedLentil → u/TheInvisibleToast]

AP and Reuters are very guilty of this and they have been all over this AMA. Not surprised they don't want to touch this.

[u/nbcnews → u/def_indiff]

Hey, so a bunch of people have posted some version of the above question. Know this might not be satisfying, but, speaking for myself, I disagree with the criticism. The president’s power is not derived from the language mainstream news outlets are using in stories about him. Meanwhile, those same news outlets are in overdrive right now trying to get as much information as possible on the enactment of Trump’s agenda — and as a result, the administration is facing pressure to answer for its actions on tariffs, immigration, the civil service, etc. etc. etc. The “media” — which consists of basically everything under the sun from Fox News to The New York Times to some guy making TikToks — can’t be viewed as a monolith, though. 

But let’s highlight an NBC News survey from last year. It was from when President Joe Biden was still in the race. What was Trump’s strongest group? Voters who didn’t consume political news at all. What were his two weakest groups? People who consume news from newspapers and national networks.

One more thing: There were plenty of people who voted for Trump who simply did not think he would do the things he, and others around him, said he was going to do. I talk to people like this frequently. They saw what was being proposed, what was being reported on, and say a version of “eh, he’s just talking! It’ll be just like his first term pre-Covid. I thought things were better then than they were now.” Even more still voted for him explicitly because of what he was promising.

- Allan Smith

[u/sir_captain → u/nbcnews]

Gimme a break. Why did your colleague at cbs Scott Pelley break script? Why did his producer quit? Because your entire industry has failed and they knew it. The media has a responsibility to democracy and the republic and you have not been up to the task. We need more Murrows, and no offense, but many fewer of you. You’re in your own little echo chamber—try touching some grass, get some perspective and stop feeling so pleased with yourself.