Linked statement
“President Trump banned several news groups from the White House because he disliked their reporting. This violates the First Amendment. I want my colleagues to speak out against this ban and protect the free press.”
“Mr. President, if a person walks the Halls of the U.S. Capitol, there is a pretty good chance you will bump into a reporter. They are seemingly around every corner with their phones out ready to ask your opinion on a recent statement or the news of the day. Those of us who serve in this Chamber have become used to their presence, and their many, many questions. While we may bristle when they press us, we know that these journalists serve an indispensable purpose; they shine a light on the Senate, and they keep the American people informed about their government. The work these reporters perform is a great service to our Nation, one that deserves our thanks. Yet, you won’t hear that kind of gratitude coming out of the Trump White House. Since President Trump returned to the Oval Office, he has done more to undermine, belittle, and attack the free press in America than any President in modern history. Last year, after the Associated Press refused to use the President’s invented name for the Gulf of Mexico, the President barred the organization from access to the Oval Office and to Air Force One. At the same time, he launched an unprecedented number of baseless defamation lawsuits against respected news outlets for their factual reporting on his failed businesses, his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, and his role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection right here in this Capitol. On Friday, President Trump took his war against the press to new depths and banned CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO reporters from the White House grounds because of his personal disagreements with their coverage. No President in the history of the United States has ever stooped this low. This Trump decision has no modern precedent. A credentialed media outlet has never been banned from the entirety of the White House. This ban is unconstitutional retaliation for actual reporting. It is something you would expect to read about in the communist Russia days with Pravda and Izvestia or perhaps in North Korea, but not in the United States. This assault on the press is a dangerous effort by the President to distract American public opinion away from his failed agenda, his endless Iranian war, and his self-defeating tariffs. Trump has broken countless promises made during his campaign for President. Chastising CNN won’t lower the price of diesel fuel; punishing POLITICO won’t end the Iranian war; and maligning MS NOW won’t save the President’s free-falling approval ratings. Yet, the President seems determined to double down on his assault on the First Amendment. Yesterday, the White House announced the creation of Trump TV, a news channel designed to spread propaganda from the Trump White House. I would have thought the creation of a state-run media platform to serve as the President’s megaphone would have generated some sort of response, some sort of outcry from my Republican colleagues who condemn communism and authoritarianism, but they are afraid to say a word lest this press operation and President Trump turn on them. I urge all my colleagues to speak out against this ban and the President’s continued assault on the free press. The future of our democracy demands us standing up for the Constitution, even if the President won’t.”
Mr. President, if a person walks the Halls of the U.S. Capitol, there is a pretty good chance you will bump into a reporter. They are seemingly around every corner with their phones out ready to ask your opinion on a recent statement or the news of the day. Those of us who serve in this Chamber have become used to their presence, and their many, many questions. While we may bristle when they press us, we know that these journalists serve an indispensable purpose; they shine a light on the Senate, and they keep the American people informed about their government. The work these reporters perform is a great service to our Nation, one that deserves our thanks. Yet, you won’t hear that kind of gratitude coming out of the Trump White House. Since President Trump returned to the Oval Office, he has done more to undermine, belittle, and attack the free press in America than any President in modern history. Last year, after the Associated Press refused to use the President’s invented name for the Gulf of Mexico, the President barred the organization from access to the Oval Office and to Air Force One. At the same time, he launched an unprecedented number of baseless defamation lawsuits against respected news outlets for their factual reporting on his failed businesses, his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, and his role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection right here in this Capitol. On Friday, President Trump took his war against the press to new depths and banned CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO reporters from the White House grounds because of his personal disagreements with their coverage. No President in the history of the United States has ever stooped this low. This Trump decision has no modern precedent. A credentialed media outlet has never been banned from the entirety of the White House. This ban is unconstitutional retaliation for actual reporting. It is something you would expect to read about in the communist Russia days with Pravda and Izvestia or perhaps in North Korea, but not in the United States. This assault on the press is a dangerous effort by the President to distract American public opinion away from his failed agenda, his endless Iranian war, and his self-defeating tariffs. Trump has broken countless promises made during his campaign for President. Chastising CNN won’t lower the price of diesel fuel; punishing POLITICO won’t end the Iranian war; and maligning MS NOW won’t save the President’s free-falling approval ratings. Yet, the President seems determined to double down on his assault on the First Amendment. Yesterday, the White House announced the creation of Trump TV, a news channel designed to spread propaganda from the Trump White House. I would have thought the creation of a state-run media platform to serve as the President’s megaphone would have generated some sort of response, some sort of outcry from my Republican colleagues who condemn communism and authoritarianism, but they are afraid to say a word lest this press operation and President Trump turn on them. I urge all my colleagues to speak out against this ban and the President’s continued assault on the free press. The future of our democracy demands us standing up for the Constitution, even if the President won’t.