Rachel Maddow wondered if Donald Trump choosing to ban MS NOW, CNN and Politico together rather than just one had a “blunted” effect.
While talking on the “Lovett or Leave It” podcast Wednesday, the MS NOW host posited if Trump had just singled out one news organization to ban from The White House, if that would have had the “positive impact” he wanted. From other reports, Maddow thought just banning MS NOW might have actually been the best move.
“I think there’s a few different things going on. First of all, The Wall Street Journal reported that the catalyst for Trump doing this was that his aide, Natalie Harp, reportedly showed him footage, I guess, of people saying things about him on MS NOW that he didn’t like,” Maddow told host Jon Lovett. “And so then he responded with a ban on MS NOW and CNN and Politico. Now where does that come from?”
She continued: “I have always had this theory that Trump doesn’t come after MS NOW more than he does other news organizations, even though I think of all the mainstream media organizations we are probably the most critical of him, I’ve always thought that he maybe doesn’t comes after us in a more concerted way because he’s talked himself into the idea that that will help us, right? That that will elevate us and so he shouldn’t pay us attention because we’re always going to be, you know, who we are and that it’ll only help us and therefore hurt him to give us too much attention.”
She added: “I think it blunted the impact, the positive impact that he wanted politically on his side. I think it stirred the news organizations of this country to realize that this is something that we actually ought to stand together to fight.”
Last week, Trump announced the three organizations would be banned from the White House “effective immediately,” accusing the three news organizations of reporting “fake news” about him and his administration.
“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 wrote on Truth Social. “Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow.”
In turn, the trio of news outlets sued Trump’s administration on Monday for violating both the First and Fifth Amendments, in addition to filing a temporary restraining order.
“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,” they shared in a joint statement. “Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting. Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.”
You can watch the full “Lovett or Leave It” episode in the video above.
