MS NOW chief reporter says Trump’s press ban is meant to distract from administration ‘failures’

WASHINGTON, DC: MS NOW chief national reporter Peter Alexander has accused President Donald Trump of using his latest media ban to shift attention to the press and away from what he described as the administration's failures.

Speaking Saturday, September 19, on ‘The Assignment with Antonia Hylton’, Alexander said Trump “cannot handle the truth” and argued that the president wants Americans to focus on the media fight.

His comments came one day after Trump announced that CNN, MS NOW and Politico would be banned from the White House. The administration followed through with the decision Saturday, barring reporters from the three outlets from the White House grounds. 

MS NOW chief reporter says Donald Trump ‘can’t handle the truth’

During the Saturday appearance, Alexander compared the situation to a famous line from the 1992 film ‘A Few Good Men.’

“It was Jack Nicholson, I think, in A Few Good Men who said ‘You can’t handle the truth.’ In this case, the president cannot handle the truth and he doesn't want Americans to hear the truth right now,” he said.

Alexander then argued that Trump’s decision was aimed at making the media itself the focus of the political conversation.

“The bottom line is, what strikes me why he would do this is because in many ways what the president is doing is trying to send a message to his supporters, to those media outlets, podcasters, influencers, and others, to make this the focus,” he said.

Alexander said the focus was shifting toward “the First Amendment, on fake news, on the media, that they are the problem,” rather than what he described as “some of the failures of his own administration.”

Donald Trump announces ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico

Trump announced the ban on Truth Social, saying he was “proud to announce” that CNN, MS NOW and Politico were being barred from the White House.

He accused the outlets of “constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!” and also criticized MS NOW’s change from MSNBC.

“Media 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,” Trump added.

The ban then moved from an announcement to action Saturday, with reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico denied access to the White House grounds.

Reporters for MS NOW and CNN instead carried out live shots from outside the White House gates. 

MS NOW reporter points to Trump’s Russia-Ukraine war promises

The MS NOW chief reporter also pointed to the Russia-Ukraine war while explaining why he believes Trump cannot avoid the issues he raised.

“A war that's now in its seventh month, that he promised would be four or five weeks long. He promised the Russia-Ukraine war would be resolved on day one, if not before he came into office,” he said. “These are all truths the president can't hide from.”

The reporter argued that Trump’s decision to make the media ban a major issue could help refocus attention on subjects that appeal to his supporters.

“And by raising this topic in the way he did - I think, based on the years of covering him - the president's desire is this will refocus the attention, amplify his message on topics that sort of rile up the base,” he said.