Covering a White House Where News Is Always Just a Tap Away

A Q&A with New York Times White House reporter Katie Rogers. 

When asked, "How do President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump use tech?" Rogers said, "They’re an Apple couple. Both use their iPhones to interact with the outside world — sometimes to the chagrin of President Trump’s security advisers and critics. The president is not as technologically savvy as the first lady. His aides slip him paper copies of news articles, and when he travels on Air Force One, an aide is often spotted carrying around these mysterious-looking cardboard boxes. They are full of paper documents. The president will often sift through the papers when he needs to refer to something — which can be where that famous Sharpie of his comes into play."

When asked, "How have you seen White House tech evolve under President Trump?" She said, "The Trump White House also had journalists switch over to an in-house Wi-Fi network, which made some reporters understandably uncomfortable for security reasons. The West Wing has also made more use out of devices that scan for gadgets including phones — I can understand why Signal is so popular. I think the anxiety over surveillance is perhaps more heightened than it was under the Obama administration, which, by the way, did its part to pave the way for these types of procedures."