Vance defends White House press ban, says outlets can still report
by Kerry Picket · The Washington TimesVice President J.D. Vance said Monday that President Trump is not banning media outlets, saying the three outlets barred from the White House campus can still report but will no longer have special access to deliver propaganda.
Mr. Trump on Friday announced he has banned CNN, MSNOW and Politico from covering the White House, saying they have been reporting “fake news”
By Monday, the three outlets announced they were suing the Trump administration for access to the White House.
When asked on the tarmac before boarding Air Force Two about whether it was appropriate for Mr. Trump to ban the media outlets because he did not like what they reported, Mr. Vance said he took issue with the premise of the question.
“He’s not banning media outlets. What he’s doing is saying we’re not going to give you special access to the White House if you engage in what is effectively propaganda,” the vice president said.
Mr. Vance said 92% of the stories those three outlets write about Mr. Trump or the administration are negative.
“That’s not representative of the American people,” Mr. Vance said. “It’s not representative of public opinion. So if you’re going to engage in what is effectively far-left propaganda, why would a Republican White House give you special access?”
Mr. Vance was pressed about his advocacy for free speech over recent years and asked how the move by Mr. Trump was not an attack on free speech.
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“They can still report on the Trump White House. They can still get the public reports. They can still, of course, talk to people in the administration and outside the administration,” Mr. Vance said. “What the president has said is, we’re not going to give you special access inside the White House.”
Mr. Vance compared Mr. Trump’s action to the Biden administration and the Obama administration, and how Politico and Breitbart were treated at different times.
“If you actually look at the objective analysis, Politico and Breitbart…Politico is as anti-Trump as Breitbart was anti-Obama or anti-Biden,” he said.
“Now, why on God’s green earth would Donald Trump be expected to give Politico special access when nobody in the media expected the Biden administration or the Obama administration to give Breitbart special access? It’s about basic fairness.”
Neither Mr. Obama nor Mr. Biden banned Breitbart from the White House grounds, although Congress revoked the outlet’s credentials and it was denied access to the presidential press pool.
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The White House Correspondents’ Association on Friday pushed back on the president’s action against the three outlets, saying the WHCA stood by CNN, MSNOW and Politico “who are being singled out for doing their jobs.
“The president said it plainly in the Oval Office, describing his own planned action as a ‘ban on the free press,’ said WHCA President Jacqui Heinrich.
“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.
“This is about more than the rights of journalists. It is about the right of the American people to receive a full and independent account of the activities, policies and decisions of whoever occupies the nation’s highest office.”
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Correction: A previous version of the story incorrectly said where Vice President J.D. Vance answered questions from the press. He was on the tarmac before boarding Air Force Two, not while on the airplane.
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