Clayton Weimers
Executive
Director, RSF USA
Last Friday, President
Trump announced he was banning CNN, MS Now, and
Politico from the White House. Let’s be
clear–this is the impulse of a dictator, and it’s flatly
unconstitutional.
Trump’s ban on the media
is about much more than a few reporters’ access to the
White House. White House correspondents, videographers, and
photographers are our eyes and ears keeping tabs on the
American presidency. Trump has effectively kicked
the people out of the people’s house.
The
loss of public insight was immediate. On Monday, CNN
was meant to serve its rotation in the “TV pool,” an
arrangement between ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, and Fox
News to share the financial and logistical burdens of
providing high-level coverage of presidential events.
The pool was altogether suspended later
that day. As a result, there was no independent press pool
following the president to New York for the United Nations
General Assembly. And all this is unfolding as Trump
prepares to welcome Chinese president Xi Jinping, the
world’s single greatest jailer of journalists, to
Washington, D.C. for a state visit.
As I told the
BBC this week, RSF USA stands with
CNN, MS NOW, and
Politico as they challenge
the ban in court. I’m also thrilled to see courageous
solidarity by the other news outlets who are refusing to
accept Trump’s illegal ban.
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A free, independent
press is a building block of our democracy. Journalists may
do the reporting, but the public is the press’s ultimate
beneficiary: we all have a right to see, hear, and question
what our government is doing. When the government decides
which newsrooms have access to the president’s actions
based on whether the president approves of their coverage,
it robs citizens of an essential check on
power.
Your support helps RSF USA work toward
a future where we never have to write another letter like
this. From challenging the Trump administration in
court to defending
under-resourced reporters covering civil unrest across
the country, we are combining direct assistance with
long-term structural reforms to defend the right to reliable
information for all.
Please make a donation
today to help RSF USA hold power to account and defend the
public’s right to
know.
