White House Adviser: Media Outlets Have ‘Pavlovian Response’ To Drudge Report

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White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer on Wednesday claimed that media outlets still have a “Pavlovian response” to news stories posted on The Drudge Report. 

“It’s not that it drives our conversation in our world, I’m fairly ambivalent to what Drudge puts up on a daily basis,” Pfeiffer said at Politico’s Playbook Breakfast. “This is less true now than it was before, but there’s a Pavlovian response from, you know, some media outlets. It’s like, why are you asking me about this? Well, it’s on Drudge.”

Politico’s Mike Allen asked Pfeiffer how he responds to such requests for comment. “I sort of ask them to repeat themselves, say that to themselves out loud again and think about it,” Pfeiffer said, adding that usually reporters claim an editor is on them about a particular story. 

Pfeiffer also said The Drudge Report negatively impacts the White House’s message. “The example being that, you know, that anyone saying anything can, um, can get caught up in, in the spin cycle in a way that is very damaging — you know, it hurts what we’re trying to do on a daily basis but is also very damaging to that individual person,” Pfeiffer said. 

One example of Drudge’s influence came during the 2012 presidential campaign. Drudge reported that Mitt Romney had placed former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice near the top of his vice presidential shortlist. Of course, the story was proven wrong when Romney tapped Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) as his running mate, but it still inspired headlines on an array of political news websites.   

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h/t Business Insider.

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