Trump allies rally behind White House media ban as First Amendment questions mount

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump announced a sweeping ban on media outlets on Friday, September 18, barring journalists from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from entering the White House.

After critics slammed Trump’s decision by describing the move as a violation of the First Amendment, his allies have now rallied behind him to defend the decision as a mere exercise of rights.

Trump allies defend right to ban media

US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, on Sunday, September 20, said that President Trump is “absolutely within his rights” to ban CNN, Politico, and MS NOW reporters from the White House, claiming the ban prevents reporters who are “not behaving” in good faith.

“The president is absolutely within his rights to limit journalists to government facilities, particularly when, in his opinion, they’re not behaving as good faith journalists,” Waltz told CNN’s Dana Bash on 'State of the Union'.

Waltz also pointed to media restrictions under previous administrations, saying they had limited access for outlets considered right-wing. He said those outlets have now been allowed back into the White House, but that the president believes other news organizations are not acting in good faith.

Waltz later added that he hopes the media “would take a good introspective look at itself and its practices.”

Sen John Barrasso downplays concerns over ban

Appearing on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’, Sen John Barrasso (R-Wyo), on Sunday, downplayed concerns that President Donald Trump may have violated the Constitution when reporters from Politico, MS NOW, and CNN were banned from covering the White House on Saturday.

When pressed over whether he agrees with the ban, Barrasso said, “We all respect and value the freedom of the press; it’s in the Constitution.”

“He was banned from Twitter. He was banned from Facebook, and I didn’t see people come to his defense,” the Wyoming senator told the outlet.

“So it goes both ways. The press has an obligation to report fairly, and the president doesn’t see it happening that way.”

Pressed on whether the president’s decision to ban the reporters from White House coverage violated the First Amendment, Barrasso again said, “I believe the press has an obligation to report fairly.”

Legal experts cite First Amendment concerns

The current dispute centers on a First Amendment legal concept known as “viewpoint discrimination,” since Trump has been explicit about his reasons for wanting to ban certain outlets over coverage he deems “negative.”

“The First Amendment does not permit the government to pick and choose which journalists are allowed to do their jobs,” National Press Club President Mark Schoeff Jr said.

Last year, when Trump briefly banned The Associated Press from some events, a Trump-appointed judge in Washington wrote that “when the White House opens its facilities to the press generally, as it does in the Brady Briefing Room, it cannot exclude journalists based on viewpoint.”

Trump announced the ban via Truth Social on Friday, posting that it went into immediate effect “as a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS.”

He later said there was no particular reason for the timing of the ban.