WASHINGTON ― The White Home’s favored new reporter, the one who scolded Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy for not sporting a go well with, was the first voice at a “information” outlet that has taken $192,000 from President Donald Trump’s political committees, practically half of which got here whereas he was program director there.
Brian Glenn now works for a pro-Trump streaming platform known as Actual America’s Voice, however from September 2020 to Might 2024, he was essentially the most seen face at Proper Facet Broadcasting Community. Over these years, the outlet took $92,000 in “broadcast” charges, first from Trump’s Save America committee after which from Trump’s marketing campaign, in accordance with a HuffPost evaluation of Federal Election Fee filings.
Glenn acknowledged the funds in a short interview, describing them as “manufacturing” prices, after which pointed to the row of tv cameras arrange at the back of the White Home briefing room.
“Who pays for them?” he requested, suggesting that the key networks like NBC, CNN and Fox additionally settle for cash from the entities they cowl.
In truth, taking such funds could be thought of a critical moral breach amongst respected information shops. The tv networks overlaying this and former White Homes, in addition to print and radio shops, all pay their very own bills when overlaying political occasions, as does HuffPost.
Certainly, the Trump administration, together with the White Home, has falsely accused official information organizations of corruption as a result of authorities businesses, even these within the first Trump time period, purchased subscriptions from them, together with some to costly, lobbyist-oriented commerce publications.
Karoline Leavitt, the White Home press secretary who had labored on Trump’s marketing campaign, additionally acknowledged the funds. “The Trump marketing campaign paid RSBN for the utilization of their reside stream,” she stated.
She didn’t tackle HuffPost’s query concerning the ethics of an outlet accepting cash from the topic it was overlaying.
These funds continued after Glenn left RSBN to hitch Actual America’s Voice final spring. The marketing campaign gave the web video outlet a further $100,000 from June 2024 by the tip of the 12 months, capped off with a $57,000 cost on Nov. 14, the week following the election.
Glenn referred additional questions in regards to the funds to RSBN founder Joe Seales. In a 2024 Politico profile, Glenn was described as “the star who Seales has largely handed management over to.”
Glenn didn’t dispute that characterization, however stated, “I wasn’t the CEO so I didn’t deal with enterprise choices. Simply programming content material.”
RSBN President Grace Saldana stated Seales was not accessible for interviews however confirmed the monetary association with the Trump marketing campaign. “The funds in query have been for video manufacturing providers RSBN supplied to the marketing campaign. Particularly, we delivered reside video protection of marketing campaign rallies, which they used on their social media, and so forth.,” she stated through e mail.
Glenn, who earlier in his profession labored on the ABC affiliate in Dallas, has been a darling of the White Home press workplace since Trump returned to energy in January. Throughout his time at RSBN, Glenn would describe Trump to his streaming audiences in a extra constructive gentle than even Trump describes himself. A go-to query of his to rallygoers was to ask what they cherished most about Trump.
Leavitt introduced final month that she would seize management of the every day press pool that covers the president in small areas just like the Oval Workplace and Air Pressure One to exchange conventional, fact-based shops with overtly pro-Trump cheerleaders, who usually collect alongside the briefing room partitions. On Wednesday, for instance, that coterie was given about half of the questions Leavitt allowed, and most requested her why Democrats had behaved so badly throughout Trump’s speech to Congress the earlier night time.
Amongst that group, Glenn seems to be a singular star, having access to Oval Workplace occasions even when he’s not within the introduced pool that day. “In the event that they invite me, I am going in,” he stated.
That occurred early final week when Glenn was introduced into an government order signing the place Trump began providing purple “TRUMP WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING” caps to reporters. The normal journalists all declined, however Glenn eagerly asked for one.
Final Friday, Glenn was within the very first journey pool rotation to characteristic a “secondary TV correspondent and crew” along with the conventional tv pool.
And earlier that day, he was invited into the Oval Workplace assembly between Trump and Zelenskyy, although he was not listed in that day’s on-campus pool assignments. It was there that he requested Zelenskyy why he didn’t put on a go well with to the assembly and that “plenty of People have issues with you not respecting the dignity of this workplace.”
Zelenskyy has on quite a few events stated that after Russia’s three-year outdated invasion has been repelled and the conflict is over, he’ll resume sporting a normal go well with. He advised Glenn the identical on Friday. “Perhaps one thing like yours, sure,” he stated. “Perhaps one thing higher. I don’t know. We are going to see, perhaps one thing cheaper.”
The premise for Glenn’s assertion about “quite a bit” of People having issues with Zelenskyy’s military-style apparel is unclear. In any case, his query was adopted up later by Vice President JD Vance’s criticism that Zelenskyy had been “disrespectful” to Trump and had not been adequately grateful, which quickly led to Trump loudly berating Zelenskyy.
Glenn and a cameraman traveled aboard Air Pressure One to Florida later that day, the primary among the many pro-Trump reporters ― together with a author from Ben Shapiro’s Each day Wire ― to hitch the home journey pool, changing The Related Press’ reporter, photographer and a further print reporter from the White Home Correspondents Affiliation.
Leavitt stated that Glenn and all the opposite handpicked reporters within the revamped press pool must pay the identical quantity that’s charged to WHCA members who’re additionally on the journey. On a weekend golf tour to Florida, that invoice can method $3,000 per seat.
“Everybody touring on Air Pressure One can pay the identical charge,” she stated.
The unique headline was modified to make clear that RSBN is Brian Glenn’s former employer.
