Psaki lays waste to bogus GOP talking points on press freedom
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Why did Donald Trump ban three news organizations from the White House?
My assignment is to find the truth, follow the story, and to bring people with me, whether I'm here in the studio and in the chair, or I'm traveling all the way down on the border. I want people to see that journalism, good storytelling, good reporting, even when it makes us uncomfortable, actually gives us tools and power. The Assignment with Antonia Hilton, weekends at 1 p.m. Eastern on MSNOW.
It's now been five days since Donald Trump announced his media ban, barring three news organizations, including, of course, this one from accessing the White House. The case is going to be in court tomorrow. So that that will be watching closely. And we're expecting a filing from the Trump administration tonight. And I'll bring you that if we get any details of that whatsoever. But my point is this, this story is continuing to move very, very quickly. But so far, this whole thing has not been going especially well for Donald Trump and his administration. I mean, for one, Trump officials are struggling to come up with an even remotely logical explanation for why the president is blocking press access just 42 days before the election.
Perhaps because there isn't one. And now in what I would consider to be a sign they know they have lost the public argument here, the White House is circulating a set of very, very defensive talking points to try and, I guess, retroactively justify the president's latest completely rash decision. And unsurprisingly, none of their justifications hold water whatsoever. I mean, for instance, they essentially claim that Democratic administrations did the same thing, suggesting that the Obama administration intentionally barred Fox News from participating in a round of interviews during his administration. I happened to be part of the Obama communications team at the time. And I lived through this. So let me just take the liberty of debunking this particular myth.
And I will keep doing this as long as they keep throwing out absolute BS explanations. And bear with me because this is a bit weedy and has nothing at all to do with the press's access to the President of the United States or access to the White House itself. But back in 2009, the Treasury Department did not include Fox News on a list of outlets that would be interviewing one of their officials on one particular day, in part because Fox News had not requested an interview anyway. But when Fox News complained that they had been left off the list and the other networks backed them up, the Obama White House immediately granted Fox News an interview. Now, is that a reflection of everyone in the Obama White House loving Fox News, wanting to sing Kumbaya together and loving all their coverage?
Of course not. That's not the point. I mean, that is the point, actually. That's the point. And for what it's worth, here is how then Fox News correspondent Major Garrett, who ended up doing the interview, described the situation at the time.
Initially, Fox was not on that list. Treasury Department presented that to the network pool, the five networks here in Washington that operate pool cameras for such interviews, and the pool said, you cannot exclude one of our members, in this case, Fox. Treasury got that information, checked back here at the White House. Anita Dunn, who I mentioned just a moment ago, said, yes, go ahead and grant an interview to Fox. We were then granted an interview, and that's how it played out.
That's how it played out. Again, I told you, little weedy. Fox was left off the list of an interview with a Treasury Department official. The other networks pointed it out and the Obama administration added them to the list. That is in no way close to what Trump did on Friday when he intentionally and deliberately banned three media outlets from accessing the White House, revoking their press passes. Don't take my word for it. Here's that same reporter, Major Garrett, now with CBS News, contrasting the two situations just yesterday.
At no time, though, was my White House press credential seized, as happened over the weekend to reporters from CNN, Politico, and MSNOW.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why did Donald Trump ban three news organizations from the White House?
0:00–6:30
2
How does Jen Psaki dismantle the GOP’s “Obama‑style” press‑ban justification?
6:30–10:59
3
What was the 2009 Fox News interview controversy and why does it matter today?
10:59–15:24
4
Is national‑security a legitimate excuse for banning the press?
15:24–20:40
5
Why are Republican candidates echoing the same “end the Iran war now” talking points?
20:40–25:56
6
How does Maryland Governor Wes Moore view generational change and AI regulation?
25:56–31:32
7
What impact could the Susan Collins pay‑to‑play scandal have on the Maine Senate race?
31:32–38:23
8
What are the key takeaways and future outlook for press freedom and politics?
38:23–43:31
Speakers
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