Columnist Proposes Women-Only White House Press Corps to Counter Trump’s Attacks on Kaitlan Collins

What the proposal is

Ana Marie Cox, founder of Wonkette and a contributing editor at The New Republic, wrote a Mediaite column suggesting two alternative responses to President Trump's repeated attacks on female reporters. One: staff the White House press corps exclusively with women. Two: disband the press corps entirely so accomplished reporters can spend less time responding to personal abuse and more time reporting.

Cox framed the women-only option as a strategic, collective move rather than a symbolic stunt. She argued that sending only women would remove what Trump perceives as a sympathetic, mostly male audience and would "frighten him," because bullies need the sense they can win. She added that an all-women corps would also send a public message: there are more than enough women qualified to hold what's often called the most prestigious job in journalism.

Collins

The legal and public backdrop

Cox's column also argued that the ban and the broader focus on access have made the press corps overly dependent on proximity to the president. She called the ban an "unexpected gift" for encouraging reporters to prioritize reporting over access, and she used that line of thought to support disbanding the traditional press corps as an option.

How people reacted

Cox's idea generated substantial online attention, visible in multiplying comments on Mediaite's site. The piece circulated widely in news coverage and social commentary, with other outlets covering both the president's confrontations with Collins and the larger question of access and press freedom.

Practical implications to consider

• The idea operates within an ongoing clash over media access and presidential conduct: courts and newsrooms are already contesting bans and the broader pattern of targeting particular outlets.

Bottom line

Cox's column is a provocative prescription aimed at changing the day-to-day interaction between the White House and journalists by altering who speaks for the press or eliminating that single forum. She presented it as a tactical choice to protect and empower women reporters like Kaitlan Collins and to shift public understanding of who can perform the highest-profile reporting duties.