President Donald Trump said Friday that CNN, MS NOW and Politico were banned from the White House “effective immediately” because he considers their coverage “fake news.” That’s one way to handle scrutiny: not rebut the reporting, just try to toss the reporters out like empty Michelob bottles after a bad Bruins loss. AP reporting
There was one small administrative snag, naturally. Trump supplied no explanation of how the supposed ban would work, and AP reported that journalists from all three outlets remained on White House grounds late Friday afternoon. So this was a presidential declaration with the operational precision of a CB-radio transmission from Revere in a thunderstorm. AP reporting
The National Press Club condemned the declaration, saying barring outlets because officials dislike their coverage is an attempt to control who can witness and report on presidential power. The basic issue is not whether any reporter is delightful at a cookout; it is whether the government gets to punish coverage it dislikes by restricting access to the public’s house. National Press Club statement
Sources
- https://apnews.com/article/trump-cnn-msnow-politico-media-bans-bb675679fb10738a51bef90bde6c525a
- https://www.press.org/newsroom/national-press-club-statement-trump-declaration-ban-cnn
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Featured image: Latrobe White House cropa2.jpg by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
