President Donald Trump never had much love or respect for the free press, even though it's a foundational ideal of the American experiment.
"Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost," Thomas Jefferson wrote in a letter in 1786, three years before this nation's Constitution was ratified.
Trump has zero love for free speech now. When major news outlets report that diesel prices have soared, or the war with Iran hasn't ended, or his approval ratings are low, he brands the stories "fake news." Trump's pique about critical news coverage recently culminated with him banning three mainstream news outlets — CNN, Politico and MS NOW — from the White House grounds.
"I don't have to let them into my — into the people's house," he said in the Oval Office.
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All three news outlets are members of the White House TV pool, which means they rotate covering official events and share the footage with other members. When reporters from those three organizations arrived at the White House on Saturday, their access cards no longer worked.
Trump's obsequious advisers do him no favors by pretending that his actions are normal or supported by legal precedent. They aren't. The late, disgraced President Richard Nixon despised many reporters. Yet even he didn't resort to the sort of crude, juvenile public insults that are staples of our president today.
Also, the First Amendment doesn't give politicians the right to discriminate against views. Trump can't bar some news outlets from official events simply because he doesn't like their coverage.
In response to the ban, Fox News Washington bureau chief Bryan Boughton, the TV pool's current chair, wrote in an email that White House TV pool members will no longer cover events "designated as pool coverage of the president." Several members of the photography pool have said they will not publish or distribute images of pool events. The three targeted organizations also have filed suit, arguing that limiting their access violates their First Amendment rights. A judge Thursday restored their access to the White House for now. ...
Never thick-skinned when it comes to media attention, Trump derided the news media during his first term but has escalated attacks during his current one. He often posts his policy plans on the social media platform he owns, which allows him to deliver his version of reality to supporters while avoiding independent fact-checking. (Trump added a premium subscription service to his social media platform that allows early access to his posts, which is ethically questionable but useful to businesses and prediction market bettors.)
Losing their White House access will not prevent these news outlets from continuing to gather facts and report the news. But Trump's instinct to control news organizations and punish outlets for critical coverage is contrary to his oath of office. Subvert the First Amendment, and you erase one of the values that makes America great.
