In the days leading up to the March for Life, Americans around the country wondered: would the new, pro-life administration have a presence at the 44th annual March? Thanks to White House correspondent Charlie Spiering ’05, they got their answer: not only would they support the March, they would bring a historic presence never seen before.
Such news blew up countless news sites over the next few days, causing a palpable feeling of excitement on the actual day of the March — all thanks to Spiering’s probing question, one that probably would not have been asked otherwise. That’s the impact that Spiering, a history major who now works for Brietbart News, is having at the White House, bringing a pro-life perspective to a briefing room that doesn’t talk about such things very often.
“Breitbart News readers are passionate about pro-life issues. I try to work those questions into my daily routine, since they are rarely addressed in the press briefing,” explains Spiering.
Alumnus Charlie Spiering (seen speaking in the center) is a fixture at White House press briefings, thanks to his job as a White House Correspondent for Brietbart.
Spiering has been involved with journalism since graduating from Christendom in 2005. Thanks to the college’s close proximity to Washington, D.C., he was able to get in touch with people who were involved with politics and journalism, leading to a job with the Washington Examiner in 2009. He wound up spending five productive years at the newspaper, writing insightful commentaries on contemporary issues along the way.
Now, he’s the White House correspondent for Breitbart, attending the daily press briefings, going on special assignments (such as to Trump Tower after the election this past fall), and even spending time in the Oval Office itself. Such daily routines are certainly impressive, but Spiering is taking the incredible opportunities given to him and making significant impacts with them. In 2015, just a year after joining Breitbart, Spiering was highlighted for calling the White House out on their response to the infamous “Planned Parenthood videos,” which showed members of Planned Parenthood speaking graphically about what they do with aborted fetuses.
While the previous administration did not share the pro-life perspective of Spiering’s readers, they still spoke highly of Spiering.
“It’s not unusual for me to call on the Breitbart reporter who attends the White House briefing. The gentleman who typically represents them here on a daily basis is somebody who is respectful of that process, asks tough questions and get answers from the White House Press Secretary,” said former press secretary Josh Earnest.
Gaining respect from both sides of the aisle is an incredibly tough thing to achieve in Washington, D.C. today. Spiering, however, understands the value of establishing strong, personal relationships with all members of the political spectrum — a skill he credits to his time at Christendom.
“Christendom teaches you the value of personal relationships in life and your career,” says Spiering. “The college taught me how to read, write, and think critically, skills that are necessary for every journalist in their career. I can think independently across the political spectrum without getting stuck in groupthink or echo-chambers.”
With so many criticisms of journalists floating around the news today, it’s refreshing to have someone in the media who brings a critical, classical perspective to today’s increasingly chaotic news cycle. Thanks to Charlie Spiering, readers can count on that, and an increasingly pro-life perspective in the White House briefing room, for years to come.