Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has revealed what appears to be a stunning internal blunder by Politico, exposing the outlet’s deliberate exclusion of leading conservative media from its news-gathering process. On January 9, Spicer posted a screenshot of Politico’s internal Google document — mistakenly linked in a newsletter — that outlines the news sources staff are instructed to check daily. Breitbart News was not listed.
The document included dozens of legacy and left-leaning news outlets, such as CNN, The New York Times, and Axios, even providing shared login credentials for paywalled content. But conspicuously absent were any major conservative publications. No Daily Wire, no Daily Caller, no Daily Signal — and no Breitbart News, which consistently ranks among the top-performing outlets in terms of digital engagement.
The omission is not just editorial — it’s institutional. In early 2025, Breitbart News dominated social media engagement, surpassing both CNN and the New York Times. Under President Trump’s second term, Breitbart was granted consistent access to the White House briefing room. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt declared that conservative outlets like Breitbart would finally “have an actual seat in this room every day.”
Vice President J.D. Vance and others in the administration have openly praised Breitbart’s influence, with even Politico begrudgingly acknowledging its resurgence under Trump. Yet despite its reach and access, Politico’s internal documents suggest it refuses to treat Breitbart as a legitimate news source.
This is not the first sign of bias. In recent years, Politico reporters have faced backlash for inflammatory posts, questionable framing of conservatives, and editorial decisions that appear to shield Democrats from criticism — including suppressing coverage of the Hunter Biden laptop story and misrepresenting Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The pattern even drew concern from Politico’s parent company, Axel Springer.
While legacy outlets claim objectivity, the exclusion of Breitbart and other conservative platforms from Politico’s editorial process shows how deep the bias runs — and how little regard these institutions have for media plurality in American political discourse.
