Ok, so, it’s unconstitutional, but he’s doing it anyway and getting away with it anyway.
Reporters from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico on Saturday said they were denied access to White House grounds after President Trump announced a ban on the three media outlets.
He can’t do that. But he’s doing in anyway.
On Friday afternoon, a Bloomberg News reporter asked Trump about the ban at a press conference and whether he was trying to intimidate the press. “No, no, no, no. I dislike dishonest press, like you. I think you’re terrible,” Trump responded.
He also said: “They purposely write negative news, and they do that because they want to try and diminish the Republicans and a Republican administration.” Trump said there was no specific news story that led to his decision, instead it was a frustration that had built up over the last two years.
In other words it’s as unconstitutional as it can possibly be.
CNN said in a statement on X Saturday that they have “a right under the U.S. Constitution” to report without interference from the government.
“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 our favor.”
And Trump will continue to put obstacles in their path until someone stops him.
Trump’s announcement comes amid a midterm election season where Democrats have an edge — Trump has faced pushback over his unpopular war in the Middle East, a looming affordability crisis, and threats to demolish the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center.
White House Correspondents’ Association President Jacqui Heinrich said Friday that “the Constitution protects the freedom of the press from government interference.”
“That protection does not depend on whether the president likes a news organization’s coverage, agrees with its reporting, or approves of the questions its journalists ask,” she said.
Theodore Boutrous, a leading First Amendment lawyer in the U.S., told NPR that the ban is, on its face, unconstitutional.
Trump don’t care. Trump does what he wants. The dictatorship is now.
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