I'll admit it: when I first heard that President Donald Trump had revoked special White House press access for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, my gut reaction was to cringe. Not because the media doesn't have a credibility problem. It does, and it's earned every bit of the scorn it gets. But there's a difference between being right about a problem and picking the smartest way to fix it, and this fight has the makings of a self-inflicted wound.
When Trump revoked press access for these outlets, he cited a pattern of inaccurate reporting about him and his administration. He also said more outlets could lose their credentials in the days ahead. True? You bet. I’m not denying that one bit.
Admittedly, it was funny when White House correspondents for CNN and MS NOW showed up Saturday morning anyway, apparently convinced Trump hadn't meant it, and got turned away. Boy, they weren’t happy about that.
"We have a right under the U.S. Constitution to do our reporting without hindrance or interference from the government and this ban is an illegal assault on this fundamental right," CNN said in a statement. "We will not be deflected from our duty to hold the government and other public bodies to account, and we will continue to report on the actions and processes of this administration without fear or favor."
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"The White House belongs to the American people and the decisions made inside are funded by our tax dollars," MS NOW said in its own statement. "MS NOW intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalism in our democracy."
Let's be honest here. The First Amendment doesn't entitle any media outlet to access to the White House grounds. Not every outlet gets a press pass, and that's never had anything to do with freedom of the press.
Trump argued the 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."
And there, he has a point.
Presidents from both parties have complained about their coverage, including Joe Biden and Barack Obama. Do you remember that in 2023, Joe Biden’s White House axed credentials for 442 reporters? It’s funny how no one acted like there was a constitutional crisis then.
Most of the media pushes the Democrat agenda, and it too often reports biased or outright fictitious news to serve it. Heck, on Friday, the White House released a list of nearly 50 "hoaxes" CNN has reported over the years. You don’t have to try too hard to find examples of these outlets pushing fake news. And let’s be honest here, I don’t even think MS NOW pretends to practice journalism.
After the same media spent years running cover for Joe Biden's cognitive decline, it's hard to argue the press has been doing its job. Frankly, it needs an incentive to practice journalism, not activism. There's nothing wrong with journalists being critical of a president. That's the job. But the job is to report the news accurately, not promote an agenda as legitimate news coverage.
Still, this probably could've been handled better. The optics aren't good. Picking a fight with the press corps this close to the midterms isn't the message Trump's team should want dominating the news cycle. It's a distraction from arguments he could actually be winning. If the White House wants this fight, it should make it clear it is after fair coverage, not favorable coverage. And waiting until after the midterms to pick this fight would have been smarter.
