Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., on Sunday downplayed concerns that President Donald Trump may have violated the Constitution when reporters from Politico, MS NOW and CNN were banned from covering the White House on Saturday.
Asked directly whether the president had violated the Constitution, Barrasso said, “No, I believe the press has an obligation to report fairly.”
Pressed again on whether he agreed with Trump’s ban, Barrasso said, “We all respect and value the freedom of the press — it’s in the Constitution.”
“He was banned from Twitter. He was banned from Facebook, and I didn’t see people come to his defense,” the Wyoming senator told NBC News’ “Meet the Press.” “So it goes both ways. The press has an obligation to report fairly, and the president doesn’t see it happening that way.”
Pressed on whether the president’s decision to ban the reporters from White House coverage violated the First Amendment, Barrasso demurred, saying again, “I believe the press has an obligation to report fairly.”
He added that he believes Trump’s decision to bar those outlets from the White House would not negatively affect Republicans running for office in the upcoming midterm elections.
“The bottom line on all of this is: This is not going to have an impact on an election 44 days from now,” Barrasso said. “People are going to go to the voting booth. They’re going to make a decision based on their life, their future, what they believe is best for them and their families.”
The president announced Friday that he was barring three outlets from the White House, writing in a post on Truth Social that he made the decision “as a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!” The president also warned that “other outlets” could face similar action but did not name them.
“Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America,” Trump added.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, the president said it wasn’t one particular story that led to his decision, but “cumulative stories over the last few years.”
Journalists from the affected outlets reported that they were turned away at the White House security kiosk on Saturday and their credentials were revoked
On Saturday, during an MS NOW broadcast, anchor Peter Alexander said that the ban was out of the ordinary.
“This is not business as usual. What’s happening right now is different. The latest threat against our cherished freedoms, protected by the U.S. Constitution,” Alexander said.
On his show, Alexander interviewed Gabe Rottman, vice president of policy for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
Asked whether the ban was legal, Rottman said, “In a word, no.”
“The fact that the White House would put the affected news organizations to the task of having to go to court and vindicate their rights, you know that in and of itself is an effort to intimidate the press writ large,” he added.
Representatives for Politico, MS NOW and CNN pledged to continue covering the White House despite the bans.
“POLITICO will continue to fairly report on this White House and future ones. We will vigorously defend our First Amendment rights against any attempt to restrict them,” the outlet’s press team wrote in a post on X.
“We have a right under the U.S. Constitution to do our reporting without hinderance or interference from the government and this ban is an illegal assault on this fundamental right,” CNN said in a statement posted on X.
“We will not be deflected from our duty to hold the government and other public bodies to account, and we will continue to report on the actions and processes of this administration without fear or favor,” the statement added.
“MS NOW intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalists in our democracy,” the network said in its own statement.
The White House Correspondents’ Association, a group that represents the coalition of news outlets and reporters who cover the White House, also denounced the move.
“The Constitution protects the freedom of the press from government interference. That protection does not depend on whether the president likes a news organization’s coverage, agrees with its reporting, or approves of the questions its journalists ask,” Jacqui Heinrich, the group’s president, said in a statement.
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., appeared after Barrasso on “Meet the Press” and said banning certain news outlets from the White House violates the First Amendment.
“It clearly does,” the New Jersey senator said.
“This president has no regard for the First Amendment,” he added. “He’s going after reporters, and this ban just doubles down on that.”
