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On Sept. 19, President Trump banned four major news outlets from entering the White House. Reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico have been denied entry into the White House on President Trump’s claim that they were spreading “false news.” These outlets are known to not be Republican biased, and President Trump has voiced in the past that he does not like these news outlets.
These outlets have since filed suit in Federal court on the claim that “The government can’t selectively remove journalists’ access because the president dislikes their reporting.” They won, and Federal Judge Kelly issued a 14-day temporary restraining order. Meaning the White House must restore the journalists’ access to the White House for at least those 14 days. Despite this court ruling, journalists were still denied entrance on Sept. 24. Trump continued to not let journalists from CNN and MS NOW into the White House upon the arrival of Chinese President Xi Jinping, continuing to show how Trump will disregard the First Amendment for as long as he can.
Now, why is this such a big concern? The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects the people’s freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Trump banning approved journalists from the White House is a direct infringement on the First Amendment. This is just one example of Trump disregarding the Constitution and not listening to Congress. Trump has made it clear that he believes himself to be “above the law,” but to be president you must swear an oath to the Constitution. Trump is legally not allowed to do things against the Constitution, and Congress is there to keep him in check, but somehow, he keeps getting away with breaking the law.
Could this mean journalism is at risk? The public relies on information from journalists to get their news. If Trump can get away with banning journalists from covering his conferences, then how will the people have access to reliable information? Journalists allow people to question government officials and understand things from different perspectives. If Trump controls who can cover his conferences, then he controls what the public has access to. People will no longer have access to information that the government might not want them to hear. Journalists have the ability to let the people understand what the government might be trying to avoid. By Trump banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, he is starting the downfall of freedom of speech.
Controlling the media is something that dictators do, not the President of the United States. Looking at this in an extreme way, this could eventually lead to the loss of free journalism. News outlets and journalists may become afraid to report on what they see or cover the stories they believe are important because they fear repercussions from the government. If Trump can get away with disregarding the First Amendment, then what is next? What other rights could U.S. citizens lose? Every time the Constitution is disregarded, it creates another threat to the democratic system our country depends on. If we allow the freedom of the press to be weakened, we risk weakening the democracy that gives Americans their voice.
Olivia Catalina is a third year political science major. OC1051596@wcupa.edu