Barack Obama has officially commented on President Donald Trump’s media ban, and he is making his stance on it clear.
President Donald Trump’s decision to bar several major news organizations from the White House has sparked a new debate over the relationship between the administration and the press. Now, former President Barack Obama is weighing in on the move, recalling how his own administration handled its tense relationship with Fox News and questioning what might have happened if he had taken a similar approach during a recent interview. Read more about what he had to say below.
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Trump Bans Several News Outlets From The White House
On September 18th, Donald Trump announced that CNN, MS NOW and Politico would no longer have access to the White House, accusing the outlets of repeatedly reporting what he described as "fake news." The president said the decision was based on what he described as years of coverage rather than one specific story or incident.
The three news organizations have challenged the ban in federal court, arguing that the decision violates their First Amendment rights. The dispute has also caused other major television networks to boycott the press pool that provides coverage of presidential events. A federal judge ordered the administration to restore the banned reporters' access on September 24th.
Barack Obama Weighs In On Trump's Media Ban During New Interview
Barack Obama addressed the controversy during a September 19th appearance at Colgate University, where he reflected on Trump's decision and questioned how the public would have reacted if his administration had taken the same approach toward Fox News.
"My imagination could not foresee some of the stuff that's going on right now," he said while speaking to Colgate University President Brian Casey. "I'm trying to think what would have happened if I had said, 'You know what, Fox News, you're out of here!' It's unimaginable."
While Obama's administration did not permanently block Fox News from the White House, it did have a contentious relationship with the network. In 2009, the administration initially excluded them from an interview with a Treasury Department official, but Fox ultimately participated after other news organizations objected to the attempted exclusion.
The former president then brought up how the ban appeals to a small percentage of Americans who supported the Apprentice star's decision.
"Well, what that means is we have not developed the kind of understanding of what democracy requires, and we've got to shore that back up," he said. "I don't think that's inevitable. I don't think all is lost on that front, but we have to roll up our sleeves and get working."
