Vice President JD Vance defended President Donald Trump's decision to bar CNN, MS Now, and Politico from the White House, telling Newsmax on Monday that the administration is not preventing the outlets from reporting but is refusing to give them "special access" because of what he called dishonest coverage.
"It's not a ban. It's the refusal to grant special access to people who are engaged in dishonest reporting," Vance told "Greg Kelly Reports" from North Carolina before a rally for U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley.
Trump announced Friday that CNN, MS Now, and Politico were banned from the White House "effective immediately," accusing the outlets of reporting "FICTION and LIES." Reporters for all three organizations were denied access to the White House grounds Saturday after their passes were deactivated.
CNN, MS Now, and Politico sued the Trump administration Monday, arguing that their exclusion based on the content of their reporting violates the First Amendment. The lawsuit also alleges that the administration violated their Fifth Amendment due process rights by revoking access without notice or an opportunity to respond.
Vance told Newsmax that an "honest news media" is necessary but accused some major outlets of acting as partisan organizations.
"The problem with a few of these media outlets — I wouldn't even say it's most, but some of the bigger media outlets — is they're not really news organizations," Vance said.
"If you're going to be a propaganda arm of the left, why would Donald Trump give you special access to his White House?" he added.
Vance said the administration's action does not prevent the three organizations from continuing to cover Trump.
"Politico will still write their crazy articles. They will still misrepresent what we say and do," Vance said. "What's different is that they don't have an office in the White House anymore."
The three organizations contend that the government cannot condition White House access on favorable coverage. In their lawsuit, they said the Constitution does not permit a president to deprive members of the press of constitutional rights "based solely on his dislike of the content of their reporting."
Vance acknowledged that the dispute would be decided in court.
"Obviously, those organizations are going to sue," he said. "I'm sure the courts will have their say in this."
He also rejected concerns that Trump's decision could establish a precedent that a future Democrat administration could use against conservative media organizations.
Vance pointed to the treatment of conservative outlets during previous administrations and argued that Trump's White House has been more accommodating to ideologically diverse media.
"We want every bias and every perspective to be present, but there are limited spaces," Vance said.
"When you go there, there are only so many places, right? You have to choose some standard for how you dole out seats," he added.
The dispute also disrupted television coverage of Trump on Monday. CNN was scheduled to serve in its rotation in the five-network White House television pool, but after the administration prevented the network from fulfilling the assignment, the pool said it would not provide a replacement.
Trump also defended his action Monday, writing on Truth Social that his administration was not attacking a free press but what he called "FAKE NEWS." The White House said in a statement that the First Amendment protects the outlets' right to publish but does not guarantee them a White House hard pass, a briefing room seat, or a place in the press pool.
Vance similarly maintained that the distinction is between the right to report and privileged physical access to the White House.
"We're not saying Politico can't report," Vance said. "We couldn't do that even if we wanted to."
Credit: https://www.newsmax.com/
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