The White House has done it again.
This time, they are attacking an independent journalist and creator whose work is not only incredibly important to what we do, but whose clips you have almost certainly seen on The David Pakman Show.
I’m talking about Aaron Rupar.
Aaron is a friend of the show, and we have used his work countless times over the years. He and his team do the painstaking work of watching Trump speeches, White House events, interviews, cable news appearances, and more, pulling out the important moments and making them easily accessible to the rest of us.
And I don’t think I can overstate how valuable that work is.
We produce five shows a week while also covering breaking news throughout the day. We simply cannot have someone watching every second of every Trump speech, every press conference, every cable news appearance, and every event involving this administration. People like Aaron make it possible for independent shows like ours to quickly find, analyze, and show you what the most powerful people in the country are actually saying and doing.
That is part of what makes what happened this week so striking.
I first want to walk you through exactly what happened. Then I’ll talk about why the White House going after someone who does the kind of work Aaron does should matter to anyone who values independent media.
What happened
For two consecutive days, the White House’s official Rapid Response account personally attacked Aaron on X. This account has been part of the White House’s official communications operation since January 2025.
On September 12, Aaron posted the following photo on X showing that White House aide Natalie Harp had traveled to Ireland with Trump:
Natalie has been at the center of online speculation in recent weeks, including allegations about the nature of her relationship with Trump. That context is important, because Aaron’s otherwise simple post prompted an extraordinarily personal response from the White House’s official Rapid Response account:
Aaron’s response? “The taxpayer-funded White House incitement account is now attacking me for [checks notes] being in my 40s”
The personal attack is the point. We’ll circle back to that in a moment, because there is more.
On September 13, Aaron posted this video to X that featured someone from Trump’s team shoving the media away during a press gaggle outside Air Force One.
The White House’s response? Another personal attack on Aaron:
For two consecutive days, an official White House communications account used its platform to personally attack an independent journalist.
And Aaron explained exactly what happens when the White House does this:
“When they do this it results in a flood of harassing and threatening messages,” he wrote.
That is where this becomes about something much bigger than a couple of nasty posts on social media.
Why Aaron’s work matters
To understand why I find this so striking, you have to understand what Aaron actually does.
Aaron and his team watch an enormous amount of political coverage so the rest of us don’t have to.
Trump speeches. White House events. Press conferences. Interviews. Cable news appearances. Social media posts. They watch and document all of it.
Those clips then travel everywhere. Journalists use them. Independent creators use them. Shows like ours use them. Millions of people who understandably cannot spend their entire day watching Donald Trump speak get to see what the president and his administration are actually saying.
And much of what Aaron publishes is remarkably straightforward.
If Trump says something noteworthy during a speech, Aaron posts the clip.
If something happens during a White House event, Aaron posts the video.
If Trump publishes something notable on social media, Aaron will post a screenshot.
And this work extends well beyond Trump. Aaron has spent years documenting political moments across administrations, campaigns, Congress, and the media. His account acts as a living, searchable archive of moments that might otherwise quickly disappear from public attention.
Aaron certainly has political opinions, and sometimes his captions are snarky. But the underlying material is right there for everyone to see in its original form.
That is precisely what makes this so striking.
Aaron doesn’t need to manufacture a Trump quote. Trump said it.
He doesn’t need to fabricate a bizarre moment from a press conference. The video exists.
His work gives millions of people easier access to what this administration is actually saying and doing.
The bigger picture
As many of you know, I was recently placed on the White House’s official “media offender” list. In fact, that is how many of you may have discovered me and my show. And this is why what is happening to Aaron should not be viewed in isolation. It is important to recognize the broader pattern in how this White House is treating independent media.
The relationship between accounts like Aaron’s and shows like mine has fundamentally changed how information reaches the public.
The barrier between a president saying something and the public seeing it has collapsed. Independent journalists and creators can take a moment from a presidential appearance and put it in front of millions of people within minutes.
That has transformed the political media landscape.
For decades, a relatively small number of enormous media organizations largely determined which moments from a presidential speech, press conference or interview reached the broader public.
That is no longer the case.
Someone like Aaron can document a moment. Independent shows like ours can analyze it. Millions of people can see it without waiting for a cable network or major newspaper to decide that it deserves their attention.
And that makes independent media incredibly valuable.
It also means that the people doing this work can themselves become targets.
When an official White House account singles out an individual creator, the power imbalance is obvious. And according to Aaron, these attacks don’t remain confined to a post from a government account. They result in a flood of harassment and threats directed at him personally.
Whatever the intention behind these posts, that consequence matters.
Why I’m telling you about this
Being placed on the White House’s “media offender” list did not make me want to cover this administration less. It reinforced for me why maintaining genuinely independent media is so important.
And when another independent creator is singled out by official White House accounts, I think it is worth telling you about it.
You should be able to see what your government is doing.
You should be able to hear what the president actually says.
And journalists and creators should be able to document those things without fearing that doing so could make them the next target of an official government communications account, followed by a flood of harassment and threats.
That is why I intend to keep covering these incidents when they happen, whether the target is this show, Aaron Rupar, or someone else.
And it is also why your support matters.
Independent media only remains independent if there is an audience willing to sustain it. Subscribing to this Substack, sharing our work, watching the show, and supporting the independent creators you value all help make that possible.
The best response when someone tries to make independent journalists quieter is to make sure their work continues to be seen.
Thank you, as always, for supporting the show and independent media.
—David
If you would like to support Aaron Rupar’s work, you can subscribe to his email newsletter right here on Substack: https://www.publicnotice.co/subscribe
You can also follow Aaron on X, BlueSky, and/or Threads.
The David Pakman Show is reaching over 150 million people every month across YouTube, podcasts, Substack, and beyond. But algorithms can change. Platforms can fold. And when that happens, this newsletter is how we stay connected.
If you’re not yet a paid subscriber, please consider joining.
If you’re already paid on one platform, consider supporting us on both Substack and our website.
You can subscribe on our website and right here on Substack.
Let’s keep building.
PS: Can’t contribute right now? No problem. You can support us for free by subscribing on YouTube, listening to our audio podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, or become a free subscriber to this very Substack. Every bit counts.
Stephen Cheung, the human Weeble talking about someone sitting behind a keyboard is hilarious. His fat egghead self CAN'T get out from behind a desk.🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I'm in my 40's. I must be quite villainous