(CN) – Building on his previous calls for enhanced protections for journalists, Democratic presidential candidate Eric Swalwell announced on World Press Freedom Day Friday that he would ensure that reporters have access to the White House if he is elected.
The California congressman announced a “press access and transparency package” that would restore the White House press briefings, which have become rare and brief under the Trump administration. Swalwell also promised to hold at least one press conference per month.
Swalwell, 38, says his administration would embrace the First Amendment and press freedom.
“The age of labeling journalists as ‘enemies of the people’ will end with Donald Trump’s departure and will be remembered as an anti-democratic travesty,” Swalwell said in a statement.
The policy announcement caps a productive week for the Swalwell campaign, which announced earlier this week that the congressman has qualified to participate in the 2020 Democratic debates.
Swalwell is considered a long shot among the packed crowd of Democratic candidates, polling around 1%, but he is hoping to perform well in his native Iowa and California, which are both holding early primaries.
Along with more frequent press briefings, Swalwell says he will make White House visitor logs publicly available, beef up the federal government’s ability to handle Freedom of Information Act requests and pass a federal shield law for journalists.
Trump’s presidency has been marked by routine attacks on news outlets that he dislikes, particularly CNN, and he has shunned traditional sit-down interviews.
Journalists have been attacked and threatened frequently during the two years of the Trump presidency. Reporters Without Borders now ranks the U.S. as 48th in its World Press Freedom Index. The country dropped seven points on the index since 2016. The Paris-based organization blames the drop on Trump’s repeated claims that the press is the “enemy of the American people,” and his calls to revoke broadcasting licenses from outlets that criticize his administration.
Swalwell is a former prosecutor who jumped into the Democratic race in early April. His campaign messaging has centered on gun control and student loan debt relief.
In Congress, Swalwell and Senators Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Robert Menendez, D-N.J., are leading legislation that would make it a federal crime to assault a working journalist.
“On this World Press Freedom Day, I call on the Trump administration to reverse course and recommit to advancing press freedom – both at home and abroad,” Menendez said Friday in a letter to Trump.
Swalwell plans to discuss his press freedom package Friday while campaigning in Iowa. He has visited Iowa three times since announcing his presidential bid on April 8.
“President Trump’s disdain for a free press isn’t #FakeNews – it’s very real and a threat to all of our democratic institutions,” Swalwell said. “He thinks a free press is important only when it’s fawning over him, but dangerous when it criticizes him. I know it’s a cornerstone of America, and my presidency will protect and respect it regardless of how I’m covered.”
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