Margaret Sullivan discusses President Donald Trump's ongoing conflicts with the press, focusing on his recent actions against Politico and other media outlets. This week, Trump banned Politico from covering Air Force One during one of his trips to Nebraska, prompting several media organizations to boycott their own coverage spots in solidarity with Politico. Despite this move, the White House maintains that it will continue to provide unprecedented access to press members, though a court previously ruled against Trump's attempt to ban CNN, MS Now, and Politico from the White House earlier this month. Sullivan highlights the broader context of Trump’s repeated attempts to restrict media coverage and the legal battles ensuing as a result, emphasizing the First Amendment issues at stake.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-08,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
When you hate the mainstream press as much as Donald Trump does, nothing gets in the way of the punishment fantasy.
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nothing → hate → fantasy
And certainly not any awareness of how the first amendment is supposed to function in American democracy.
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amendment → suppose → democracy
This week, his revenge tour took yet another turn.
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tour → take → turn
He barred one of his most disfavored media organizations – Politico – from boarding Air Force One, where it was supposed to provide “pool coverage” to the rest of the press corps as Trump traveled to Nebraska for a campaign stop on Monday afternoon.
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Trump → bar → afternoon
That move was met with a strong show of solidarity by several media outlets, who decided not to fill the Politico spot.
And the White House was defiantly delusional, claiming that Trump will “continue to grant an unprecedented level of access to the press”.
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Trump → meet → press
This latest chapter came with the usual blast of venom at the mainstream media, though not specifically aimed at Politico.
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chapter → come → Politico
“The New York Times and many other Artificial Media Outlets should be arrested for their dishonesty and disservice to our Country,” he posted on Truth Social.
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he → arrest → Social
The episode follows Trump’s effort in mid-September to ban Politico, CNN and MS Now from the White House.
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episode → follow → House
Those organizations quickly sued, charging that Trump’s action was unconstitutional.
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action → sue → ?
Trump-appointed judge Timothy Kelly came down on the side of the media, issuing a temporary restraining order that ordered the White House to reinstate the press badges that had been taken away.
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that → appoint → badges
And since then, CNN has been kept off Air Force One repeatedly, using the rationale that access to the White House is one thing, but access to the president’s plane is another.
“The law is absolutely clear,” Ted Boutrous, the first amendment lawyer who is representing the three news organizations said in a statement.
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who → keep → statement
The Trump administration’s position is that traveling with the president is a privilege not a right.
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traveling → travel → president
The fight is not over, since Kelly will conduct a hearing later this week over the media outlets’ request for a preliminary injunction – a stopgap measure to protect press access in advance of a possible trial.
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Kelly → conduct → trial
Trump, of course, has been picking fights with individual journalists and entire news outlets for years.
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Trump → pick → years
At this very moment, there are court fights involving the Associated Press, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and Disney, which owns ABC News and a number of local ABC affiliates.
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which → be → affiliates
Columbia Journalism Review called it “a striking and heartening show of solidarity from the White House Press Corps”.
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Review → call → Corps
When the three outlets were kicked out of the White House last month, the other networks in the press pool decided not to replace CNN in the rotation, thus suspending coverage for a time.
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networks → kick → time
Peter Baker of the New York Times noted that for the first time in his 30 years covering the White House, “the president will not have a network TV camera covering his everyday official actions and travels”.
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president → note → actions
What’s more, about 50 media organizations backed up the lawsuit by the three who had been singled out by filing an amicus brief.
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who → ’ → brief
It’s hard to understand exactly how less coverage and this constant squabbling benefits Trump, but apparently, he is making a different calculation.
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he → ’ → calculation
His anti-press actions get a lot of attention, which is the very oxygen he requires to breathe.
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he → get → attention
It doesn’t matter that much of the attention is negative.
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much → matter → attention
Meanwhile, he has entered a phase of saying and doing ever more outrageous things, like his statement this week at a rally that his war in Iran was necessary to protect the world.
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war → enter → world
Trump appeared to suggest that Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego if it develops a nuclear weapon which prompted California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, to call the president “deranged and dangerous”.
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which → appear → president
Trump exudes a sense of desperation these days, with the midterm elections only weeks away and his approval ratings under water.
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ratings → exude → water
His war against the press is something of a reflex for him – it’s what comes naturally, especially when he doesn’t like the shape of reality.
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he → ’ → reality
It’s been a long time coming from a group that, in the past, has responded to this president’s constant abuse with deference and dinner invitations.
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that → come → deference
Trump seems to invent ugly new variations on his press-bashing theme almost every day.
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Trump → seem → theme
Standing together will be a necessity in the weeks and months ahead.
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Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture
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Sullivan → stand → media
The Aporia
