Just hours after bashing the news media during his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Donald Trump banned several news organization from attending the latest White House Press Briefing on Friday. In response, several media outlets have decided to boycott the administration.
Trump's media ban
Ever since his inauguration just over a month ago, Donald Trump has escalated his war of words with the mainstream media. Referring to the press as "terrible" and "dishonest," the commander in chief has engaged in a heated feud with journalists that has only increased by the day.
As news continues to trickle out about Trump's ties to Russia and their possible involvement in American politics, the former host of "The Apprentice" decided to take drastic measures. As reported by The New York Times on February 24, some of the most well-respected news organizations in the country and around the world have been banned from covering the most recent daily briefing.
Journalists from The New York Times, CNN and Politico were barred from attending a White House briefing https://t.co/XBVmXIIxUG pic.twitter.com/STFHTJwvPX
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 24, 2017
Instead of the typical interaction with reporters at the press briefing room, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer took part in a so-called "off camera gaggle" with select members of media.
Of those who were blocked out and ban include The New York Times, Politico, The Hill, The Daily Mail, Buzzfeed, the New York Daily News, the LA Times, and even the BBC.
AP, Time Magazine boycott WH briefing after other news outlets excluded https://t.co/xX32wsG3yR pic.twitter.com/rEYehJc3Jd
— The Hill (@thehill) February 24, 2017
Those who were allowed to take part in the "gaggle" briefing included right-wing news outlets Breitbart News and One American News Network, in addition to more mainstream media like CBS, Fox News, and ABC.
Also invited to attend the "gaggle" were TIME magazine and the Associated Press, who decided to take part in a boycott and refused to appear. Vanity Fair has also spoken out and included themselves in the boycott.
Moving forward
While Donald Trump has only been in office for a month, his relationship with the press doesn't appear to be stable enough to work together in the future.
During his aforementioned speech at CPAC, Trump spent nearly a half hour blasting the media, accusing them of pushing false polls and information to damage his credibility as president. As of press time, the administration is not looking to accept any news stories that they believe conflict with their agenda, which they simply label as "fake news" in the process.
