Trump press secretary doesn't engage with reporters using pronouns in emails, says they deny reality
The Trump administration's press office is declining to answer questions via email from journalists who include pronouns in their email signatures, claiming these reporters reject "biological reality" and cannot be trusted to produce truthful articles. According to New York Times journalist Michael Grynbaum, the press office has turned away emails from pronoun-displaying reporters on "three recent occasions," with press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirming this approach as official policy.
"As a policy, we do not respond to reporters with pronouns in their bios," Leavitt informed a Times reporter who had pronouns in their signature while asking about a climate research facility.
In another case, Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) senior adviser Katie Miller reportedly refused to address a question from a reporter displaying pronouns. Miller stated, "As a policy, I don't respond to people who use pronouns in their signatures as it shows they ignore scientific realities and therefore ignore facts." She later added, "This applies to all reporters who have pronouns in their signature."
When Grynbaum contacted Leavitt for clarification about whether this represented press office policy, she responded by email: "Any reporter who chooses to put their preferred pronouns in their bio clearly does not care about biological reality or truth and therefore cannot be trusted to write an honest story."
White House communications director Steven Cheung offered this comment to Grynbaum: "If The New York Times spent the same amount of time actually reporting the truth as they do being obsessed with pronouns, maybe they would be a half-decent publication."
Grynbaum reported that journalists from various news outlets have received similar responses when their email signatures contain pronouns. He mentioned that Crooked Media reporter Matt Berg tested this policy by adding pronouns to his signature specifically to see if the White House would refuse his question. Berg received a response similar to others and told Grynbaum, "I find it baffling that they care more about pronouns than giving journalists accurate information, but here we are."
The Trump administration has implemented several policies relating to gender identity during his second term, including executive orders that ban transgender individuals from military service, prohibit transgender women from women's sports competitions, and remove gender identity language across federal agencies.
A New York Times spokesperson responded to the situation by stating, "Evading tough questions certainly runs counter to transparent engagement with free and independent press reporting."
But rejecting simple requests to explain administration policies because of email signature formatting represents a puzzling and troubling decision, particularly from the nation's premier press office in the federal government.
When asked to comment, the White House press office provided Fox News Digital with the identical statement Leavitt gave to Grynbaum: "Any reporter who chooses to put their preferred pronouns in their bio clearly does not care about biological reality or truth and therefore cannot be trusted to write an honest story."