Jalopnik Suspends White House Pool Coverage In Solidarity With Politico, CNN And MS Now

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Jalopnik can confirm that it will no longer participate in White House press pool duties following the decision from the Trump administration to ban CNN, MS Now and Politico from the White House. Since its inception nearly 22 years ago as one of the all-time online car blogs, people have asked: "What does Jalopnik even mean?" Well, now we can tell you. Jalopnik, means integrity.

Sure, there is an argument to make that Jalopnik has never actually been a part of the White House press pool, so there's actually nothing to drop out of because we weren't actually invited. That's where you're wrong, though. Jalopnik has been an integral part of the White House press pool since we launched in November of 2004, but that is no more. We stand with our esteemed colleagues at Bari Weiss' CBS and Fox News in saying "enough is enough." We will not let the TV stations and websites my parents read get bullied by this administration.

To my friends CNN, MS Now and Politico: Rest now, brothers. We have the watch, and we'll see you in Valhalla.

Jalopnik will certainly miss traveling with President Trump, and all Presidents for that matter. We were there when he torpedoed trade talks with Canada and when he had to be snuck off Air Force One in a catering truck. We were also there when Tesla CEO Elon Musk turned the White House lawn into a showroom, with the president uttering the now-famous words "everything's computer." It's been a wild ride.

It's not just Trump, though. We saw President Biden fall off his bike in Delaware, President Obama drove a C2 Corvette around the White House property with Jerry Seinfeld and we were even there when that dude threw his shoes at President Bush's head. Needless to say, Jalopnik is going to miss being a part of the White House press pool, but this is for the best.

The Trump administration's decision to bar these outlets is a nasty-ass attack on the First Amendment. I understand that this story isn't about cars, and we all like cars. Hell, I love them, but sometimes things are bigger than cars, and we've got to talk about them. If this one political story in a sea of thousands is too scawwy for you, then I think you need to lock in a little bit more.

Jalopnik will continue to cover this administration as comprehensively as ever — maybe not from Washington, D.C., but we're not going to let up, and we have little doubt other reports will either.