This paper seeks to examine the role of the press within the US through a case study on the Trump administration’s media-relations, specifically within the press gaggle-episode on February 24 2017 and speech by Trump few hours before. Through a discursive analysis, it was determined that the Trump administration, represented by President Trump and Press Secretary Spicer, showed starkly different assumptions about the role of the media than two of the news organizations that were barred from the gaggle, namely CNN and The New York Times. The Trump and Spicer seemed to think that the press should be more passive and public oriented, whereas CNN and The New York Times implied a preference for a more active and deliberative journalism. Furthermore, the former’s populist tendencies also have the potential to clash with the more liberal views on democracy of the latter, and may thus also be another point of contention.