Opinion: Fox News’ Peter Doocy is Currently the Best White House Reporter

Peter Doocy isn’t just one of the best reporters on the White House beat, he’s the best in the way that matters most.

This statement runs counter to the belief of many media reporters on the left, including my colleague Tommy Christopher, but allow me to make my case.

The role of journalists is to report the truth and hold those in power to account. Being adversarial is crucial. To borrow a saying often credited to George Orwell, journalism is printing what someone else does not want to be published; everything else is public relations.

During the Trump administration, the White House press corps certainly did not play the role of PR. The vicious exchanges often led to awkward and uncomfortable moments, and the sensationalist nature of the era often prompted showboating from the louder reporters in the briefing room.

Doocy expertly occupies the middle ground. His questions are often ones that the White House would rather avoid, but they are never presented with disrespect or animus. In fact, Doocy and White House press secretary Jen Psaki almost seem to enjoy the gamesmanship at play during their briefing room exchanges.

Last week, Doocy asked Psaki that if “it’s a pandemic of the unvaccinated” as President Joe Biden says, “why do vaccinated people need to put the masks back on?” He then followed with, “if the vaccines work, which this sign says that they do, then why do people who had the vaccine need to now wear masks — the same as people who have not had it?”

That line of questioning drew a rebuke from Christopher, who wrote, “Asking why vaccinated people need to wear masks is a very good and fair question, but repeatedly implying that the new guidance suggests the vaccines don’t work, is very harmful and stupid.”

But Christopher’s criticism of the question ignores the existence of the answerer, in this case, Psaki. It is also the role of a White House reporter to ask questions in a manner that draws out an informative and newsworthy response. Doocy’s question was provocative — it’s Psaki’s duty to respond and provide the context.

Last Thursday, following Biden’s speech calling on his fellow Americans to get vaccinated, Doocy reminded the president that he said in May that vaccinated people could stop wearing masks, which conflicted with the CDC’s new guidance. The question irritated Biden, but was a fair one, and prompted a clarification from the president.

And, lest we dismiss the mutual respect between Psaki and Doocy is just for show, the Fox News White House reporter went on the record in defending the press secretary and her press shop in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.

Commentators on Fox News pounded away at President Biden over the last year during the campaign, and it continues now. Does it make your job more difficult in dealing with the White House?

It really hasn’t had that much of an impact at all. As you’ve seen, the president will still take the questions. The press secretary will still call on Fox whenever we’re in the briefing room. The only time that we ever don’t get called on are the days that we just don’t physically have a seat in the briefing room because they have this social-distancing rotation. So two days out of the week we are not in there. But on those days the staff has been perfectly responsive over email or if we can get them in person.

Doocy’s questions, often taken straight from the rundown of the news programming on his network, almost always make an impact. Peter Doocy has been doing the American people a service by asking the tough questions the mainstream media won’t ask.

What’s more, one could argue that Doocy’s questions and Psaki’s answers often set the news narrative for the next day, which is why he is currently the best and most influential White House reporter.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.