Free Press

Trump's Banishment of Disfavored News Outlets Reflects His Contempt for Freedom of the Press

The president has a long history of retaliating against journalists who offend him.

Jacob Sullum | 9.23.2026 12:01 AM

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"The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish," President Donald Trump declared on Monday. "It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS."

Trump was attempting to rebut the criticism provoked by his announcement last Friday that he was "banning" CNN, MS NOW (formerly MSNBC), and Politico "from the White House," with "other Fake News Media Outlets to follow." But his defense merely confirmed his long-standing contempt for the freedom he claims to cherish.

If you don't cover me the way I like, Trump says, I will not let you cover me at all. "It's difficult to imagine a more blatant violation of the First Amendment," said Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation.

The targeted news outlets responded with a First Amendment lawsuit that was assigned to U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly, a Trump appointee who figured in an earlier legal........

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