Kent Nishimura's Photographs Capture the Reshaped White House Press Corps

Kent Nishimura, a staff photographer for Agence France-Presse, has documented the White House press corps during the second Trump administration in a series of photographs commissioned by The New Yorker. His images reveal a transformed press corps, now including podcasters, Substackers, and right-wing outlets like Turning Point USA, Breitbart, and Newsmax, reflecting President Trump's preferences. Nishimura, who began covering the White House at the end of Trump's first term and continued through the Biden presidency, noted that the second term has not attracted more journalists but different ones. His black-and-white photographs, shot in limited spaces like the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room and Pebble Beach, aim to strip away the distraction of color and capture unscripted moments. Notable images include CNN's Kaitlan Collins glancing warily at Brian Glenn of Real America's Voice, and correspondents Nancy Cordes, Aishah Hasnie, and Garrett Haake during a briefing. Nishimura's work highlights the stagecraft of politics and the backstage labor of the press corps, offering truthful portraits of artifice.