The Tide Is Turning for Trump
Donald Trump was not prepared for such a backlash. By restricting White House access for American media companies CNN, MS Now and Politico, the U.S. president intended to continue governing by dividing, despite his unpopularity. Now it appears that the four other television networks that make up the pool of worldwide White House news coverage have decided to turn off their cameras in an act of protest and out of solidarity. Even Fox News, longtime darling of Trump’s MAGA movement, has deemed the president’s actions an infringement on the freedom of the press.
All this might seem trivial. This would be the case if the White House, and all presidential news inside and outside the U.S. for that matter, weren’t a constant soap opera flooding screens worldwide with images, especially on social media. The Trump administration, of course, has the means to temporarily compensate for the absence of pluralistic, varied and diversified news coverage by sharing its own footage. Except that, in the United States, the First Amendment of the Constitution protects freedom of expression, which includes that of the press. It is on the basis of this independent journalism that during Trump’s first term the White House was ordered by a judge to restore the press credentials of a CNN journalist. It is this very infringement that warrants the court’s intervention on behalf of the media networks barred from the White House.
No one denies that Trump is unpredictable. But that doesn’t stop the U.S. president from persisting in making mistakes. His decisions are being increasingly struck down the American courts, including the Supreme Court he molded to his liking during the latter half of his first term. Increasingly unpopular due to rising inflation and a war-turned-fiasco in Iran, Trump ought to be wary — because nowadays, a U.S. constitutional checks and balances system is telling the president that all abuses of power will be punished.
All this might seem trivial. This would be the case if the White House, and all presidential news inside and outside the U.S. for that matter, weren’t a constant soap opera flooding screens worldwide with images, especially on social media. The Trump administration, of course, has the means to temporarily compensate for the absence of pluralistic, varied and diversified news coverage by sharing its own footage. Except that, in the United States, the First Amendment of the Constitution protects freedom of expression, which includes that of the press. It is on the basis of this independent journalism that during Trump’s first term the White House was ordered by a judge to restore the press credentials of a CNN journalist. It is this very infringement that warrants the court’s intervention on behalf of the media networks barred from the White House.
No one denies that Trump is unpredictable. But that doesn’t stop the U.S. president from persisting in making mistakes. His decisions are being increasingly struck down the American courts, including the Supreme Court he molded to his liking during the latter half of his first term. Increasingly unpopular due to rising inflation and a war-turned-fiasco in Iran, Trump ought to be wary — because nowadays, a U.S. constitutional checks and balances system is telling the president that all abuses of power will be punished.
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