Obama says Trump’s White House media ban raises fundamental press-freedom concerns

Former President Barack Obama told historian Doris Kearns Goodwin at a Salem State University event that President Donald Trump’s decision to bar CNN, MSNBC and Politico from the White House should be viewed as a press-freedom issue rather than a partisan dispute. He said there is no comparable Republican opposition to a hypothetical ban on Fox News under a Democratic administration and noted that “the president of the United States can’t take some criticism.”

Obama emphasized that a free press is “foundational,” adding that the government should not discriminate against outlets simply because they publish critical reporting. He recalled his own efforts to expand press freedom abroad while in office and pointed to past controversies over media access during his administration.

Trump announced the ban on social media, describing the outlets as “fake news” and stating he did not want them in the White House. The three organizations have filed lawsuits seeking to restore their White House access. Obama warned that the episode highlights a lack of guardrails within the president’s own party and underscored the constitutional protection of free speech.

“The free press, the idea that the government cannot discriminate against, or pick on, or bully, or exclude somebody because they don’t like the criticism that’s being leveled at them, that is a foundational issue.” – Barack Obama

“The issue is not the fact that (the ban) ultimately will be overturned. The issue is the brazenness with which any president could act like this, and the people in his or her own party not say, ‘No, you cannot do that. That’s not acceptable.’” – Barack Obama