Brian Stelter applauded the way news organizations supported CNN, MS NOW and Politico when they were banned from Donald Trump’s White House last week, adding that Fox News was a particular ally.
While joining Dana Bash on Thursday’s “Inside Politics,” the two marveled at how the news community largely banded together in the wake of the three organizations being banned by Trump last week. Stelter noted that Fox News in particular – who was close to facing a similar White House ban back when Barack Obama was president – stood behind CNN in support.
“Fox News has been a real ally of CNN and the other major networks this week,” Stelter said. “And frankly, I think that’s partly because Fox, yeah, it’s thinking about the past and Obama, but it’s also thinking about what happens when a Democrat is back the Oval Office and whether some Democrat would pull a stunt like this.”
He added: “We’re going through a situation where we’re seeing examples of Democratic backsliding. Yes, this is a democracy, but there are times it’s been a healthier democracy. Backsliding is real. And scholars who study autocratic behavior say they see it happening every day, coming out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, so right now, the last week or so, we’ve seen it again, very clearly, the American press is in a fight to protect its fundamental rights.”
Bash agreed that the support from other organizations was not only good to see and feel, but also a sign that these kind of moves by Trump might not ever end up successful.
“It is so important to underscore the solidarity that the other networks and even beyond the television networks, that other news organizations have shown with CNN and Politico and MS NOW because everybody understands the stakes,” Bash said.
Trump announced last Friday that he was banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House “effective immediately.” Reporters for the three outlets were subsequently denied access to the complex and had their hard-pass credentials deactivated.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued the Trump administration Monday, arguing that the ban retaliated against them for their coverage in violation of the First Amendment and deprived them of due process under the Fifth Amendment.
On Wednesday, CBS, Fox News, ABC, NBC, NPR, the Associated Press, Reuters, the National Press Club, among others signed a legal brief – which requested a motion for a temporary restraining order that would reinstate CNN, MS NOW and Politico’s credentials – in support of the banned outlets. The Dow Jones & Co., Pro Publica, Penguin Random House and the New York Times company were also among the signatories.
Judge Timothy Kelly granted the outlets a 14-day temporary restraining order early Thursday, finding they were likely to succeed on their claim that the White House revoked their press credentials without constitutionally adequate due process. He ordered officials to “immediately return, reinstate, and restore” the hard passes revoked last week.
