'No other president went this far': CBS reporter sounds alarm over Trump's White House media ban

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump's decision to shut three major news organizations out of the White House has sparked a rare conversation across the normally divided news landscape.

CBS News senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang addressed the issue in an interview on Fox News on Sunday, September 20, where she explained why she believes the dispute goes beyond the three outlets directly affected and could have consequences for how the White House deals with the press in the future.

Weijia Jiang warns of bigger consequences

Fox News senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich asked Jiang a pointed question: why should Americans outside Washington care if CNN, MS NOW, and Politico are no longer allowed inside the White House?

Jiang, a former president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, rejected the idea that the dispute was simply about journalists being unhappy about losing access.

“This is not a tantrum by three media outlets who are upset because they can’t get into the White House or the Oval Office,” Jiang said.

Instead, she argued that the real issue is what the restrictions mean for the public.

According to Jiang, limiting which reporters can enter the White House also limits the information journalists can gather and investigate before reporting it to Americans.

Her concern, she said, is especially significant during an election year because people rely on competing news organizations to gather information from inside the administration and then make their own judgments about it.

Jiang also pushed back against the argument that White House access is something journalists should simply accept as a privilege.

“Once you open up that access for any news outlet, you can’t take it away just because you don’t like what they are saying,” she said.

Jiang acknowledged that conflict between presidents and journalists is nothing new.

“Every administration, every president hates the press,” she said, adding that there should be tension between the White House and reporters because both sides have different responsibilities.

But she argued that the latest action crosses a line because of the extent of the exclusion.

“There’s a reason why this is unprecedented, why no other president has gone to this length to kick certain outlets out,” Jiang said.

White House bans 'fake news'

The interview came after the White House had already enforced Trump’s ban in a very visible way.

Trump announced on Friday that CNN, MS NOW, and Politico would be barred from the White House.

In a Truth Social post, he accused the outlets of repeatedly publishing what he called “fake news” and said other media organizations could follow.

The next morning, reporters from all three organizations were denied entry to the White House grounds.

CNN senior White House reporter Betsy Klein, MS NOW White House correspondent Akayla Gardner, and Politico White House reporter Cheyenne Haslett were among those affected.

Their press credentials were confiscated or disabled as they attempted to enter.