Grab your pearls and clutch your Constitution, because the First Amendment just took another beating in the Oval Office. Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that CNN, MSNOW (the network formerly known as MSNBC before someone decided to rebrand it like a failing crypto startup), and Politico are banned from the White House press pool effective immediately. His reasoning? They spread “fiction and lies.” The irony could be seen from space.

In his typical word-salad fashion, Trump also dragged out the Politico subscription scandal, apparently $8 million in government subscriptions under Biden is corruption, but banning journalists from covering the president is just good business. He warned other “fake news” outlets would follow. Because nothing says “I love democracy” like a Nixon-era enemies list delivered via social media at 3 a.m.

Screenshot of Donald Trump’s Truth Social post announcing CNN, MS NOW and Politico are banned from the White House over what he calls “fake news.”

This isn’t even new. The White House already permanently revoked AP credentials earlier this year. Now they’re just speedrunning the authoritarian checklist.

But here’s the thing, and I cannot stress this enough: he cannot actually do this. The First Amendment exists. The White House press pool isn’t a private club where you can just kick out the people who hurt your feelings. CNN, Politico and MS NOW can still report on the presidency. They can investigate it, obtain documents, cultivate sources, cover Congress, agencies, courts and the campaign trail and report on Trump without sitting in the room while he speaks.

In some ways, losing access might even remove the incentive to soften coverage merely to preserve access.

Discover more from Feminegra

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.