It was 12:31 am (CDT) when news broke that a judge had ordered President Trump to immediately reinstate CNN, MS NOW, and Politico’s access to the White House. It was a major loss for President Trump - but it was an even bigger win for the First Amendment.
Federal Judge Timothy Kelly - who is a Trump appointee - ruled against the president. The three news outlets sued President Trump for banning them from the White House. It was reported that after Trump aide - Natalie Harp - showed Trump video of a report from MS NOW - the president became irate and suddenly banned MS NOW, CNN, and Politico from having any access to the White House. The judge’s decision is temporary - but it’s hard to imagine that it will not become permanent.
President Trump’s reason for banning the three media outlets was based on his assessment that the three reported “fake news.” The banning was essentially based on the fact that Trump disagreed with reporting he said was negative toward the administration. That’s when President Trump’s action led to criticism that he was violating the constitutional rights of the three media outlets. Trump tried to argue that he has the right to decide who has access to the White House and that proved to be another ego-driven decision that was given zero thought.
After Trump made the decision that was obviously motivated by sheer revenge - the administration knew it had to come up with a more legitimate reason for banning the three outlets. The administration then cited “national security” as the reason for banning the news outlets.
The administration then made the argument that a CNN report on rebuilding the bunker under the East Wing of the White House presented a national security risk. The problem was that the story about rebuilding the bunker had been published months before the ban had been announced. If that was a legitimate reason for the ban then it would have occurred when it happened and not months later.
President Trump has proven once again that he is a hot-head and he makes decisions without thinking about the outcome or the consequences - and that is a scary tendency when you are the guy who can order anything - even the use of a nuke. I doubt that Trump would ever cross that line even with his hot-headed temper - but he does present a clear and present danger to America when his randomness collides with his appetite for revenge.
