Pursuing Truth In The White House Briefing Room – with Simon Ateba

Transcript

Linda J Hansen: Welcome. Thank you for tuning in to this episode of the Prosperity 101® Breakroom Economics Podcast. My name is Linda J. Hansen, your host and the author of Prosperity 101® Job Security Through Business Prosperity: The Essential Guide to Understanding How Policy Affects Your Paycheck, and the creator of the Breakroom Economics online course.

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We also want to say thank you to our Strategic Partners. And for the sake of time, I'll just refer you to the show notes. So please visit news about our Strategic Partners in the show notes. And I will go ahead and introduce our guest today. I have Simon Ateba. Simon is a repeat guest. You can look up Episode 208.

He was on that episode and it was a pleasure to get to know him then. Simon isa White House correspondent for Today News Africa. Don't let the title deceive you though, because he writes constantly about what's happening in America and around the world, his posts are relevant, informational, and you'll want to follow him because there's always some new information he brings forth.

And when I had him on the podcast before he had just been. Shall we say excommunicated from the White House briefing room, and it made a lot of news. So I wanted to bring him back to give an update on that, but then also just to get his take on some things that are happening now in the news and as we move into the Trump transition. And so Simon, thank you so much for taking time to be back on the podcast. And it's just a pleasure to have you.

Simon Ateba: Thank you for having me. I'm so glad to be here after a long time. So I'm glad to be here.

Linda J Hansen: Yes. Well, you always have some great insights. And you when I think of breaking news, you often break news. So you often have headlines and information that just aren't really out there by mainstream media or something. And so as I have followed you, I've learned a lot of things before they became mainstream news. So, thank you.

Thank you for your hard work. When you were last on the podcast you had been excommunicated from the White House briefing room, for those who maybe didn't listen to that episode or who haven't followed your career at all.

Could you explain what happened, you know, what your history is in the White House briefing room? What happened and what's the current status with your access to the White House briefing room?

Simon Ateba: Yeah, so it was really a difficult time when I came here last. The White House decided to deactivate my hard pass. So I don't have access to the White House anymore. I can just go to the White House and tap my pass and the Secret Service allows me to go in.

So now for almost a year now, I have to apply for a daily pass every single day and they have to approve it. And when they approve it, they have to come. They have to escort me inside the briefing room, and I can't go beyond the briefing room.

I can't do anything. I can't even interview people. I can't show up on weekends to have interviews with guests. I can't do many things. So they've done everything possible to restrict my movement. So I took them to card and right now we are on the appeal card and we are going to have a ruling maybe this month before President Trump takes office.

And so it's been a tough time for trying to do my job for asking them the question that day. The other people were now asking them for being bold and doing the job and asking them the question that the American people really care about. And the American allies, including those in Africa, really care about. They did everything to, you know, get rid of me from the White House briefing.

Linda J Hansen: Well, that's so fascinating. So in an age where people cry protecting democracy and we must have free speech. They excommunicated you. They denied your regular access, your, like you said, your hard pass access and something that you'd had for quite some time. So, can you tell the listeners, you know, what was the tipping point? For the Biden White House to say, you can't be here regularly.

Simon Ateba: Yeah. So I actually used to be their best friend. They used to, the press secretary, including Jen Psaki, who used to be, there was President Biden, first press secretary before Karine Jean-Pierre was elevated to the press secretary.

They used to really be nice to me. When I go to the briefing room, they will say, when I go to their office. You see, our friend Simon is here. But when I began to ask them serious questions, especially about COVID, if for those who don't remember President Biden banned like eight African countries from coming to the U.S. because of COVID.

At the same time when you were the Omicron variant at the same time, the variant was in the UK, in Asia and everywhere. And I was just asking them questions. Why do you ban those countries? And I was also reflecting if President Trump had done that, I would have accused him of being racist and hating black people and Africans and all kinds of stuff.

And these were the people who were claiming to Love minorities and love people in Africa and being against racism do against you know, everything they accuse the right of doing. And I was just challenging them and asking them basic questions to explain those things. And they began to, I went from being their best friend to the worst enemy.

They began to leak stories to the press, to write negative stories about me, dude. She didn't call on me for almost a year. I will raise my hand even when President Biden received 50 African heads of state in Washington, D. C., even when the story was about Africa, even they were not calling on me.

And I began to raise my voice in the briefing room and insist that you should call on me. And so eventually they just banned me and they made it difficult for me to get back to the briefing room.

Linda J Hansen: Well, it's interesting because you and many other people who pursue truth have been silenced and censored and you know, debanked, demonetized taken off the internet, you know, all kinds of things over these years.

So we're hoping that will change now. And we think that it will obviously, but now you have a daily pass that you have to get. And so you have still had access not quite the same but you've still had access and I know that President Trump has declared basically, or said that he wants to really open up the access for reporters to have more transparency, open conversation more access to him and to the communications team when he becomes president.

So I know that the current White House briefing room is pretty small. I have been in it and I was trying to remember how many seats, but I have been in it and stood there at the microphone and thought, wow, this is just not as big as it looks on TV.

Simon Ateba: At every given point in time, when there's a press briefing, they're like 60 people, 60-65 people, because 49 people sit down and then you have people who stand on there, it And maybe five. Yeah, it's a very small place and the place is hijacked by the mainstream media and 99 percent of them don't actually like people on the Right.

They don't like President Trump. They don't like anything. They don't like any of the candidates he's put forward. So it's going to be good for him to open that up and bring in new people. And also they've not really adapted to the changes.

How many people really sit down and say I'm going to watch Fox News at 8 PM. to get the news? No one. How many people say we wait for CNN at 7:45 PM to watch the broadcast or the news? Nobody does that because news is 24/7. And as you can see, based on my breaking news and the Daily Letter, it's, I don't need to wait for CNN, for instance, to break the news. President Biden is going to give a speech in 15 minutes.

He's in Angola and I'm going to be broadcasting it live and CNN may not even be showing it because, you know, it's long. It's going to give maybe a 45-minute speech and they don't want to focus on the president giving a speech. And I'm going to be doing this also when President Trump is in Angola, is inaugurated on in 50, 48, 47 days.

So I would be bringing people every single speech, every single thing that he does in full. So I don't need to wait for CNN to do that because the White House is already doing that. All I do is to make sure that people have the original content and can make, they can make up their mind.

So if he opens up the White House press briefing room, he's going to bring in people who actually have influence the way people communicate now, podcast, broadcast new media, social media, Twitter, LinkedIn, that's how people get the information. And I believe that one of the reasons, apart from the bad policies, the border, the economy and everything that went against the Democrats.

I believe that one of the reasons they actually lost this election is because they didn't actually know how people communicate. They were using to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the mainstream media, advertising there, and no one watched those things. No one watched those things. I reach millions of people every single day.

Just posting on Twitter and then on LinkedIn. And I think it was yesterday or the day before yesterday. I had this video that had like 3. 4 million views. Just one small video, and there are shows in Washington, D. C. and in New York City and everywhere you have the big broadcasts. Who don't get 200,000 people watching them in the evening?

Here I am, I release one video and it reaches 5, 4 million people. Why wouldn't you have that person who actually has influence in the briefing room than someone who, you know, who has less influence and people don't trust anymore?

Linda J Hansen: Well, I would say they wouldn't want you to have access because they don't want you to speak truth. And, you know, if you can control the media, you can control the masses, right?

So, one of the beautiful things that's happening with the way that you report and get the news out and so many others it is really helping people understand. And this is something I see, like with the election in 2024 and the overwhelming victory for Trump.

I mean, people started to have more access to information and, you know, there's the old saying, if people have the right information, they'll make the right decision. I mean, they, people aren't stupid. They might be uninformed a lot of times, but they're not stupid. And you know, they can tell that their grocery prices are higher, their gas prices are higher, that there's something really crazy happening in America in terms of freedom.

And, you know, this division among people who don't really feel divided at all, but it's, you know, it's just a chaos and people see it. And so, having these different, more refreshing sources of media is really great. And mainstream media I think is dying. It's going to be a thing of the past.

It's going to be streaming, it’s podcasts, it's influencers, it's things. And we can get it real time. We can get news real-time. We don't have to wait, like you said to go turn on the news at 7 PM like back in the days of Walter Cronkite or something, you know? Yeah.

And so, we're just really thankful for that because, you know, a well-educated populace is what helps protect freedom and that, and when we can have that here in America, then we can also help spread that around the world, Africa and everywhere else. Right? And yeah, because as I say, almost every episode, a strong America makes for a stronger world, a more free world, so.

Simon Ateba: Yeah. And feedback, if I receive the resources that I need, I can change the game completely. I can, everything they do on TV. You know, all the graphics and all the pictures and bringing those things to people together and doing all the animations and all that. I can do those things right now.

I can actually do those things better than CNN and Fox News do them. Because I've learned those things and I realized all you need is to have people watching you and you can give them not just the fact, but you can present those facts in a beautiful way, in a simplified way, you allow them to connect with it.

And that's what I'm doing with the Daily Letter. And I hope I will get the resources to completely change the game, make it easy for people to get information, watch it, analyze it, and understand what's going on without people on CNN trying to explain to them what the grocery prices are, when they can actually go to the grocery store, realize that they can't afford these things are too expensive. And yeah, so it's, yeah.

Linda J Hansen: It's very exciting to see the changes that are coming. And before we close, we'll make sure listeners have all the information to follow you with your Daily Letter and other things and how to follow you on Twitter and everything. But one of the things that I would like to talk about too, is your opinions as we move into the Trump transition.

And we've got now these cabinet picks. We've got Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard. You know, we've got these picks that are coming. Kash Patel at FBI, which I think is one of my favorites. I've followed Kash for years and years. And have, you know, followed his whole thing about government gangsters, exposing the government gangsters.

And, you know, I just like cheer loudly when I hear Kash Patel is exposing truth. And so, your thoughts on all of this and how this is all going to play out in DC.

Simon Ateba: Okay. So it is going to be tough. I like all of them. I like Kash. Pat, you know, he's a great guy. He's going to change the FBI and they don't want that. Yesterday on Fox News, I heard that some GOP senators don't want to vote for him.

So I hope you'll be able to get, confirm, have at least 50 votes or 51 votes. He is a great guy. I like him. I like exit. You know, we have all these condos and it's funny how all those things always come when someone is about to be, and I'm not saying that you want someone who is like a good person, but it's also a bit intriguing that this.

Man has been in the public square for all these years and not discounted on comma. So I believe that is going to great policy. She's great. She's amazing. She's smart. She's intelligent. I think she's going to get confirmed. And almost all others, you also have Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy who are trying to trim the size of government.

And trying to cut waste. So I believe that President Trump has, you know, made the right decision by picking those people who are quite radicals, who can change things, because that's what you need. If you don't do that, what happens to you is you get to DC and you are captured by the deep state.

Linda J Hansen: Exactly.

Simon Ateba: And you don't do anything. And this I explained to you, you know, you need to shut down government and you need to close down this and we are the expert. And so you now have all these experts around you and you lose control and they know that it's going to be difficult for them to do that with President Trump because he's an independent person.

Like he's not perfectly you know, like everyone else, but one thing you can give him, he's independent. He's a man of his own words, his own action. You can trust him that if he says we do something, he will do it. All he needs is to have that team and the team of people who are radical, who are ready to change.

Things in Washington, D.C. And I believe they would be able to do it. And I also know that is going to face a lot of opposition starting from the briefing room. And that's why I need to be in there to do my job and ask the question that the American people in the American allies really care about. And I hope that it gave me back in the briefing room to do my job.

Linda J Hansen: Well, I hope so too. And you brought up a good point that the American allies really care about it too. You know, as I watch what's happening in other countries, you know, just take Brazil, what's happening with President Bolsonaro down there. Just look at what's happening in Argentina with the exciting changes happening there.

I mean, wake up America, let's look at what they're doing there. But then you look at the heartbreak in Venezuela. At times, you know, and there's all these things all over the world, a lack of freedom. You hear everywhere how the globalists are influencing so many governments all over the world.

And for you to be able to get truth out and other reporters and you know, are to be able to get truth out, people can make the right decision when they hear truth, you know, the truth in time go together. And as we're seeing so many things come out about January 6th, you know, the January 6th event, I don't even like to call it an insurrection.

The left calls it that, but you know, J six and you hear these prisoners, you hear their stories, you see what's happened to them as you hear about you know, the COVID things coming out. I mean, there's so many things. It's coming out. It takes time though to unearth the truth. And one unfortunate thing is that people forget, you know, the media cycles go so quickly and people forget.

And so I'm really grateful for people such as yourself and others and Kash Patel and others who have consistently gone after the truth and been able to really dig in and find it out because truth and time do go together and eventually. Eventually, justice comes and not always in our timetable but hopefully, it will soon, sooner than later, actually.

And we'll be able to see some real revolution, a good kind of revolution, not violent, you know, but a really good revolutionary change in our government. We need a newness and we need a cleansing and we need to get back. To the constitutional principles and, you know, limited government is not just, you know, limited government, you know, just say the word, it's meaning like government doesn't take over what the private sector can and should be doing and what individuals can and should be doing. So we need to just get government out of the way, keep it in its own little corner and like really heal our nation.

Simon Ateba: Yeah. No, I think that's right. And everything's in the U.S. The freedom, the social media companies, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and almost all the big companies. That's where they start.

If you lose freedom here, you lose it everywhere. People in Uganda, in North Korea, in South, Not that it doesn't even come close, but, you know, those countries that rely on the social media on Twitter and Facebook, they don't have any influence.

They don't have any impact on how people should not be silenced, how people should not be banned from social media, but the people in the U.S. have that influence it can, and I believe that everything starts here and if things are done here correctly, the impact around the world will be massive.

Linda J Hansen: That's a beautiful statement. And I know you have to go. So I'll just ask one question and then ask you to give your contact information. But if you were going to tell employers how to communicate these issues to employees and how important it is for them to pay attention and understand how to follow these, the truth, what would you tell employers?

Simon Ateba: Yeah. So the first thing I tell anybody, not just employers is anything you do, you need to put yourself in the position in the other person's mind.

So I have a lot of people who contact me. They're like, Hey, I want you to publish. They want to do this. I want to do that. And they've never said hi to me. They've, they don't even support my work. They've never shared anything. They did. They've never called me up like, Hey, Simon, I want us to talk about this like we are doing now having an interview.

And every time you see things from the employee's perspective, you can have them. If you don't do that, what you do is you just come off as the boss and you don't actually look at things the way they look at me. So you need to be in their shoes and that will allow you to understand how to best communicate with them.

Linda J Hansen: Well, that's such a good point, you know, and I've often quoted Dawson Trotman from Navigators Ministry who said they don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. And so that's just such a good point. And we are, we're having this conversation because we care.

We care about freedom and we care about the freedom and prosperity for all people now and moving forward. So Simon, how can people reach you and follow you?

Simon Ateba: No, just go on my I'm a lot on Twitter at Simon Ateba. Just go to dailyletter.us. I'll find me on LinkedIn, Simon Ateba.

Linda J Hansen: Well, that's wonderful. So I'll find him on Twitter at Simon Ateba. And you can also find him on LinkedIn and I know he's active on both. So you will be able to access him and his Daily Letter and please support his work. And thank you, Simon. We'll let you go broadcast the president. So thank you so much. We appreciate your time.

Simon Ateba: Yeah, I appreciate you so much.

Linda J Hansen: Thank you again for listening to the Prosperity 101® podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share, and leave a great review. Don't forget to visit Prosperity101.com to access the entire podcast library, to order my newest book, Job Security Through Business Prosperity: The Essential Guide to Understanding How Policy Affects Your Paycheck, or to enroll you or your employees in the Breakroom Economics online course.

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