The president and the press

How the press went from "the best friend the country has" to the "enemy of the American people" in the eyes of America's presidents

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President Dwight D. Eisenhower faces reporters at a news conference on Feb. 25, 1953.
(Image credit: The Associated Press)
(Image credit: President Franklin D. Roosevelt speaks to reporters at a press conference in the executive office.)

(Image credit: President Harry Truman tells newsmen details of Germany's surrender during a press conference at the White House.)

(Image credit: President Dwight D. Eisenhower faces reporters at a news conference.)

(Image credit: President John F. Kennedy begins his first news conference as president in the auditorium of the new State Department building.)

(Image credit: President Lyndon B. Johnson displays the incision from his gall bladder surgery and kidney stone removal at a news conference at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Washington.)

(Image credit: President Richard Nixon answers questions from reporters at his first news conference as president in the East Room of the White House.)

(Image credit: President Gerald Ford laughs with Bob Hope as they talk with reporters outside Bethesda Naval Hospital.)

(Image credit: President Jimmy Carter meets with reporters aboard Air Force One.)

(Image credit: President Ronald Reagan speaks to reporters, alongside his dog, Millie, after signing landmark legislation cutting the federal budget.)

(Image credit: President George H. W. Bush talks with reporters from his window at Bethesda Naval Medical Center: "Don't worry about me!")

(Image credit: President Bill Clinton teases an ABC reporter during a news conference in the White House briefing room.)

(Image credit: President George W. Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld speak to the press outside the Bush ranch in Crawford, Texas, seven months before the start of the Iraq War.)

(Image credit: President Barack Obama speaks to reporters in the Oval Office after signing an executive order to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay.)

(Image credit: President Donald Trump responds to a reporter's question as he boards Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland.)

Kelly Gonsalves
Kelly Gonsalves

Kelly Gonsalves is a sex and culture writer exploring love, lust, identity, and feminism. Her work has appeared at Bustle, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, and more, and she previously worked as an associate editor for The Week. She's obsessed with badass ladies doing badass things, wellness movements, and very bad rom-coms.