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Vice President Vance Defends Trump's Ban on Media Outlets
Confirmed
In Short: Vice President JD Vance defended President Trump's decision to ban CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House, saying they would not receive 'special access' due to their reporting.
Vice President JD Vance defended President Donald Trump's decision to ban CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House, stating that the move was not a ban but a restriction on 'special access' due to their reporting.
The three outlets were barred from the White House grounds on Saturday, and on Monday, they filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, claiming the ban violated their First Amendment rights.
In a statement, the outlets said they were filing the lawsuit to protect their First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes.
Vance told reporters that the White House had merely rescinded 'special access' to critical outlets, arguing that the outlets retain the ability to report but would not receive preferential treatment.
Vice President Vance pushed back against accusations that Trump's actions were an attack on the First Amendment, saying, 'They can still report on the Trump White House, they can still get the public reports, they can still, of course, talk to people in the administration and outside the administration.
Trump accused the outlets of publishing 'fake news' and 'fiction and lies' about him, his administration, and the United States, and said other outlets could follow.
Vice President Vance also defended the decision by saying, 'We have to remember those three outlets account about 92% of the stories that they have on the president of the United States on the administration are negative.
Vance compared Politico’s coverage of Trump to Breitbart’s coverage of former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, suggesting that the Obama and Biden administrations did not provide Breitbart with special access.
The lawsuit is expected to argue that the White House engaged in viewpoint discrimination by revoking the outlets’ access over coverage Trump described as 'negative.' Federal courts have previously held that White House credentials cannot be revoked based on a journalist’s reporting and generally require due process.
What's confirmed
- “This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes,” the three outlets said in a joint statement.
- “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. Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow,” Trump wrote.
- The three outlets have since announced a lawsuit to restore their access to the White House.
- "He's not banning media outlets," Vance said.
- “We have to remember those three outlets account about 92% of the stories that they have on the president of the United States on the administration are negative,” Vance claimed.
- “Now, why on God’s green earth would Donald Trump be expected to give Politico special access when nobody in the media expected the Biden administration or the Obama administration to give Breitbart special access?” Vance asked.
- On Monday, a reporter at Joint Base Andrews asked Vance, “You’ve talked a lot about free speech over the years, how is this not an attack on free speech?” “They can still report on the Trump White House, they can still get the public reports, they can still, of course, talk to people in the administration and outside the administration,” he responded.
- When asked on the tarmac before boarding Air Force Two about whether it was appropriate for Mr. Trump to ban the media outlets because he did not like what they reported, Mr. Vance said he took issue with the premise of the question.
- “That’s not representative of the American people,” Mr. Vance said.
What's still developing
- “The Constitution does not allow a president or any other government official to deprive the press of their First Amendment rights and liberty and property interests with no notice or process based solely on his dislike of the content of their reporting. The ban is unconstitutional and should be immediately restrained,” the outlets’ lawyers wrote in the complaint.
- The outlets moved in lock-step on Monday, seeking to reverse the president’s actions together.
- "They're just not going to get an office in the White House anymore, and I think it's totally appropriate." But most of the news outlets in the White House pool have sided with the three banned networks.
- Vice President JD Vance addressed the ban while speaking with Fox News, footage of which the White House's Rapid Response account shared on X.
- "Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow." The move signifies an escalation in Trump's war against "fake news," which he has railed against for more than a decade.
- The suit alleges that the ban violates the Due Process Clause and "retaliates against protected newsgathering and speech in violation of the First Amendment." It also alleges that Trump's statements "make clear he implemented the ban to coerce more favorable coverage of the administration" from the three outlets.
- “So he’s not banning media outlets,” Vance told reporters Monday morning as he heads to North Carolina to campaign with Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley.
- The ‘swamp creature’ eclipsing JD Vance in the race to succeed Trump.
- “What I can say with 100% confidence is that, unlike the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] IRGC, the United States never targets civilians in combat,” Vance said.
- He said: “I will say that the Iranian state media has not been a very good scribe about what’s happened in the conflict thus far, so I’m extremely sceptical of this.” The toll was confirmed not by the Iranian government but by the Iranian Red Crescent, a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
- Vance began the speech by running through a list of Republican grievances, channeling Trump’s pugnacious attitude toward immigration as he told the crowd that two years ago “we were tired of being called racist for noticing that our country was becoming dirtier and poorer and less safe and less prosperous”.
- Vance praised Trump as “the toughest SOB in American politics”, and paused repeatedly as the crowd lavished him with cheers and applause.