Latest / THE DAILY BRIEF / Trump bans CNN, MS NOW, Politico from White House

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Trump bans CNN, MS NOW, Politico from White House · THE DAILY BRIEF

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  Speaker 1: Over the weekend, MSNOW, CNN and Politico say their reporters
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  Speaker 1: were denied access to the White House. This comes as
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  Speaker 1: President Trump said he was banning those outlets. Here's the
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  Speaker 1: president defending his action.
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  Speaker 2: The ban on the free press, right? A very simple ban.
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  Speaker 2: I don't want them in my office. I don't want
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  Speaker 2: them here. I would say the ban would go as
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  Speaker 2: far as you can. And if they could straighten themselves out,
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  Speaker 2: you know, if they could straighten themselves out, I'd love it.
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  Speaker 1: Previous efforts by the president to ban the media were
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  Speaker 1: blocked by federal judges. He addressed objections over First Amendment concerns.
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  Speaker 1: The freedom of the press is enshrined in the First Amendment.
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  Speaker 2: Are you trying to intimidate the press from doing its job?
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  Speaker 3: No, no, no, no.
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  Speaker 1: Joining me now, Weijia Jiang, CBS senior correspondent and my
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  Speaker 1: predecessor as White House Correspondent Association president. Weijia, thank you
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  Speaker 1: for being here. You have covered this president for many years.
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  Speaker 1: You've seen many of his battles with the press. And
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  Speaker 1: you were also just recently in the job that I'm
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  Speaker 1: in now. So you have a unique understanding of what
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  Speaker 1: this moment represents for all sides. Here's what Jonathan Turley
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  Speaker 1: says about this moment.
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  Speaker 3: Presidents have to be very careful in what they ask
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  Speaker 3: for because you can create precedent that not only binds
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  Speaker 3: your administration but future presidents.
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  Speaker 1: Why should people outside of D.C., this D.C. media bubble,
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  Speaker 1: care about whether these three outlets get banned from the
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  Speaker 1: White House?
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  Speaker 3: So I think we have to be very clear about
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  Speaker 3: what this is and is not. This is not a
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  Speaker 3: tantrum by three media outlets who are upset because they
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  Speaker 3: can't get into the White House or the Oval Office.
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  Speaker 3: This is a serious concern for the public, because an
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  Speaker 3: attack on one outlet is an attack on everyone, no
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  Speaker 3: matter where that outlet falls on the political spectrum. It
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  Speaker 3: is limiting the amount of information that reporters inside can gather,
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  Speaker 3: can excavate, to give back to the public, so that
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  Speaker 3: people at home can make informed decisions, especially during an
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  Speaker 3: election year. So, I understand when people point at journalists
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  Speaker 3: and say, well, you know, it's not your right to
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  Speaker 3: be inside the White House. But the problem, as Jonathan
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  Speaker 3: just addressed, is that once you open up that access
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  Speaker 3: for any news outlet, you can't take it away just
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  Speaker 3: because you don't like what they are saying.
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  Speaker 1: AMY GOODMAN- Some of the president's allies, as you mentioned,
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  Speaker 1: are cheering this on. Those people agree with his criticisms
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  Speaker 1: of his coverage. But what happens that those people should
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  Speaker 1: keep in mind when the shoe is on the other
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  Speaker 1: foot and maybe a Democrat is in the office, the
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  Speaker 1: Oval Office? What does this precedent mean in practice?
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  Speaker 2: Right.
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  Speaker 3: And that is so important to point out. Look, every administration,
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  Speaker 3: every president hates the press. There should be tension. We
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  Speaker 3: wouldn't be doing our jobs, and neither would they, if
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  Speaker 3: there wasn't that friction. But there is a reason why
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  Speaker 3: this is unprecedented, why no other president has gone to
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  Speaker 3: this length to kick certain outlets out. And that is
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  Speaker 3: because it would set a precedent. It would draw a
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  Speaker 3: red line there, and then, you know, who knows what's
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  Speaker 3: to come for future administrations who might do the same
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  Speaker 3: on the other side of it. So that's why it
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  Speaker 3: is so worrisome. That's why, you know, every outlet, every reporter,
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  Speaker 3: every member of the public who consumes the news should
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  Speaker 3: be worried about this.
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  Speaker 1: If covering the White House becomes invitation-only, what impact does
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  Speaker 1: that have on the American people? If reporters come away
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  Speaker 1: believing that if they ask a sensitive question, it could
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  Speaker 1: cost them their badge— Let's be very clear.
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  Speaker 3: It is an absolute privilege to cover the White House
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  Speaker 3: and the president. And we don't take that for granted.
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  Speaker 3: But when you start selecting who's allowed to do that,
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  Speaker 3: the viewpoint shrinks and it doesn't represent, you know, the
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  Speaker 3: the public. And that's what makes America so amazing, the
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  Speaker 3: best country in the world, that we can have these
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  Speaker 3: differing viewpoints, that we can disagree, that we can bring
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  Speaker 3: different perspectives and different reporting to the table and allow
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  Speaker 3: people who are watching it and reading it decide for themselves.
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  Speaker 3: And so that's why it matters so much.
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  Speaker 1: The president's defenders say that these reporters can still do
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  Speaker 1: their jobs just outside of the gate. Describe what it
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  Speaker 1: is that reporters can't do out there that they are
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  Speaker 1: getting inside.
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  Speaker 3: So, at the heart of what we do is building relationships, right?
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  Speaker 3: Our currency is information. And so we can't just call
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  Speaker 3: up a stranger and get information. and convince somebody to
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  Speaker 3: talk to us about what's really going on with these
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  Speaker 3: various issues that are so important right now. And so
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  Speaker 3: when you are on campus, you can cultivate those relationships.
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  Speaker 3: You can literally run into people just walking around on
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  Speaker 3: the West Wing. And more importantly, I would say, You're
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  Speaker 3: documenting history in real time. You're seeing with your own
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  Speaker 3: eyes what the public can't see. We are there for
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  Speaker 3: them to record, you know, body language, to record conversations,
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  Speaker 3: to record even the tone in a room that we
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  Speaker 3: can feel. And all of that context matters in our reporting.
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  Speaker 3: And that's what we can't do from outside the gates.
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  Speaker 1: And what you see sometimes might be at the edge
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  Speaker 1: of the frame, might not be captured if, for instance,
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  Speaker 1: the White House is running its own cameras. You know,
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  Speaker 1: one of the outlets involved in this ban is part
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  Speaker 1: of the Five Network Pool. That's the system that allows
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  Speaker 1: the networks to share video of the president with the
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  Speaker 1: whole country. If they aren't there, the pool can't function.
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  Speaker 3: Right.
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  Speaker 1: America doesn't have state TV. So what happens to the
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  Speaker 1: historical record if coverage is no longer independent?
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  Speaker 3: And America cannot have state TV. That's what makes America America.
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  Speaker 3: That's why we need independent coverage. And that's why this
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  Speaker 3: press pool system has been set up for so long
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  Speaker 3: and why it works, because— You need independent actors to
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  Speaker 3: be able to be the observers. And if the government
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  Speaker 3: is only showing you what it wants, then you have
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  Speaker 3: to question, what are we missing? And that's what the pool,
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  Speaker 3: that's what these outlets bring.
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  Speaker 1: To the table. Luja Jang, CBS News superstar, thank you
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  Speaker 1: very much for joining us. Appreciate it.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you, Jackie. We're lucky to have you right now
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  Speaker 3: leading the charge.
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  Speaker 1: BE SURE TO LIKE AND