The hosts of “Morning Joe” called out President Trump after a federal judge stepped in Thursday and blocked his ban barring CNN, Politico and MS NOW journalists from the White House, with host Joe Scarborough accusing the president of being “so short-sighted.”
Last Friday, Trump announced he was banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House “effective immediately,” accusing them of publishing “fake news” about him and his administration. In response, the three news organizations filed a joint lawsuit against the Trump administration. On Thursday, a federal judge temporarily blocked Trump’s press ban, but MS NOW senior legal reporter Lisa Rubin told “Morning Joe” viewers to pay close attention to the White House’s response to the judge’s order.
“If the White House decides not to obey this order before or unless and until they achieve a stay from an appeals court or the Supreme Court, that will mark to me a new phase of where we are with respect to this administration and its fidelity or lack thereof to the Rule of Law,” Rubin said. “Be on guard today, throughout the day, for how they behave in response to this.”
As of Thursday morning, journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were still being denied entry to the White House.
“The decision by the president was just so short-sighted and just so stupid and actually was against his own best interest,” Scarborough argued. “It’s just bad for him. There are so many images that he would want out for America to see that [they’re] not seeing because none of the pool reports are being broadcast because all the networks are banding together.”
You can watch the full “Morning Joe” segment yourself below.
For her part, Rubin expressed concern about the larger impact that Trump’s hostility to the press could have on independent and less well-funded journalists.
“The process for him is the punishment,” Rubin observed. “Make no mistake. CNN, MS NOW, Politico, all well-funded organizations that can afford their own legal representation. What concerns me is people who are outside of the mainstream media, who want to do reporting without fear or favor, who are going to be deterred by this kind of behavior from the president.”
“That’s the whole point, right?” Rubin continued. “First Amendment retaliation, jurisprudence. The whole game for the judge to decide is, ‘Is this likely to have a chilling effect on other people?’ My hope is no. My reality is almost certainly yes.”
