On September 18, while White House chief of staff Susie Wiles was out of town, Trump suddenly announced he was banning CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House.
asserted
he → announce → House
“Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America,” Trump wrote.
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Trump → write → America
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whose deep unpopularity means he is likely eager to curry favor with Trump, promptly posted that the Defense Department fully supported Trump’s decision.
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Department → mean → decision
He claimed that the same outlets, which recently have reported that Russia has been helping Iran target U.S. troops and that the Defense Department has not fully accounted for deaths of servicemembers or destruction of U.S. military bases, “endangered our troops with false stories, leaks, and trafficked in fiction and lies about the President, our Warriors, and their mission.
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Department → claim → President
The next day, reporters from those outlets attempting to enter the White House complex where the press facilities are located were denied entry, and Secret Service agents confiscated their press badges.
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agents → attempt → badges
On Sunday afternoon, Trump posted an image of three full black trash bags, labeled “CNN,” “MSNBC,” and “Politico,” outside the White House.
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Trump → post → House
This morning, after the weekend’s backlash, he posted: “The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish.
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I → post → which
It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America.
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that → institute → America
It is a threat to our National Security, and must be stopped, NOW!”
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It → stop → Security
There’s that “national security” claim again: the same justification he’s using for building his ballroom and now his triumphal arch.
uncertain
he → ’ → ballroom
It is also, not coincidentally, the excuse President Richard M. Nixon floated for covering up the Watergate break-in in June 1972.
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Nixon → float → June
In any case, no one’s buying it.
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one → buy → it
MAGA Republicans have tried to claim that President Joe Biden cancelled 400 press passes.
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Biden → try → passes
In fact, in 2023 the Biden administration tightened the rules to get a “hard” press pass that allows repeated, unaccompanied access to the press area of the White House.
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that → tighten → House
To have one, a reporter had to renew it annually, be employed full-time as a reporter, have a Washington, D.C., area address, and have had recent access to the White House.
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reporter → have → House
With that change, the number of White House hard passes fell from 1,417 to 975 because many of those who held passes didn’t reapply.
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who → fall → passes
Those people could still get day passes.
uncertain
people → get → passes
In any event, these changes regarded individual reporters, not entire media outlets.
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changes → regard → reporters
The Biden White House did not identify the one journalist whose hard pass application was denied.
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application → identify → journalist
Today CNN, MS NOW, and Politico sued Trump, Trump’s communications director Steven Cheung, Secret Service director Sean Curran, and White House chief of staff Wiles for violating both the Fifth and the First Amendments.
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CNN → sue → Fifth
“This ban could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment, nor a more blatant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles,” the lawsuit says.
uncertain
lawsuit → say → principles
It says Trump banned the outlets and the reporters to retaliate against the reporters for their past news coverage “because he deemed it ‘negative’ and chilling future reporting about him and his administration’s policies and actions.”
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it → say → him
They are suing for the restoration of their press credentials for their coverage of the White House.
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They → sue → House
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, appointed by Trump to the bench in 2017, was assigned the case.
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Kelly → appoint → case
Although Trump appointed Kelly, in 2018, the judge ruled that Trump’s revoking of journalist Jim Acosta’s hard press pass likely violated his due process rights.
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revoking → appoint → rights
Trump groused that the news outlets “have drawn a great Judge, for them, a man who ruled in favor of Jim Acosta.”
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who → grouse → Acosta
Apparently anticipating a loss, he has already vowed to appeal.
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he → anticipate → loss
He ranted that journalists were demeaning the Oval Office by reporting negative stories about him.
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journalists → rant → him
“Virtually every story about me, or anything having to do with me, is negative, wrong and, in many cases, DANGEROUS for our Country!
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story → have → Country
No matter how GREAT my Achievements, they trivialize and demean,” he posted.
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he → trivialize → ?
“I have an obligation to fight for the Success and Safety of our Country.
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I → have → Country
FAKE NEWS IS A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY, and I will do whatever is necessary to make sure that the U.S.A. thrives.”
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U.S.A. → do → DEMOCRACY
Podcaster Allison Gill noted that Judge Kelly ordered the government to respond to the lawsuit by tomorrow, and that he has set a hearing for Wednesday afternoon at 3:30.
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he → note → 3:30
Perhaps of even more concern to Trump is that the major news networks are refusing to cover him on television, starving him of media oxygen.
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refusing → refuse → oxygen
ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News, and NBC News take turns providing the television coverage of the president, and CNN was supposed to be in charge of the TV pool today.
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CNN → take → pool
With CNN banned, the other networks refused to take its place, leaving television coverage of Trump suspended.
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networks → ban → Trump
A.J. Katz of The Wrap reported on their joint statement, in which they said: “The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government.
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public → report → government
No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting.”
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it → restrict → reporting
This afternoon, Trump held an event at the White House, but without a press pool, there was no audio.
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Trump → hold → pool
It was just footage of Trump standing with a group of people and apparently talking.
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Trump → stand → people
…and 24 more, not listed.
The Aporia
