Republicans struggled to excuse President Donald Trump’s controversial new plans for the White House on Sunday.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), United Nations Ambassador Mike Waltz and Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) squirmed as journalists Sunday demanded to know their views on Trump’s decision to oust MS NOW, CNN and Politico from the White House.
“[Former President] Joe Biden removed the press credentials from over 400 different agencies,” Scalise claimed on ABC News. “What President Trump’s done is brought a lot of those back in.”
There was just one problem with this comparison, as “This Week” host Jonathan Karl was quick to point out.
Four hundred individuals actually allowed their credentials to lapse and one person who applied for one wasn’t accepted, Karl reported.
“It’s not true,” Karl said. “They were not banned from the White House. That did not happen.”
Barrasso, on “Meet The Press,” stammered “n-no” when asked if Trump had violated the Constitution and tried to justify Trump’s move by noting he had been banned from Twitter during his first administration.
That ban occurred on Jan. 8, 2021 — 12 days before Trump’s first term was slated to end and two days after the president’s followers stormed the U.S. Capitol in a deadly effort to stop Biden from rightfully assuming office.
Host Kristen Welker responded by playing a clip of Trump in 2025 during which he claimed he stopped “all government censorship” and “brought back free speech.”
When Welker asked, “Do these bans amount to government censorship?” Barrasso replied, “You’ve asked the question a couple of times and I’ve answered it.”
Aaron Rupar, the independent journalist who shared the exchange on X, noted Barrasso’s answer was “Not a no!”
On CNN’s “State of the Union,” Waltz argued the Supreme Court supported Trump’s ability to ban press from government facilities, arguing the media should face consequences for the use of anonymous sources and practice of correcting mistakes.
“The president is absolutely within his rights to limit journalists to government facilities,” Waltz said. “The Supreme Court has been very clear.”
Host Dana Bash replied that she was at “a loss for words” considering Waltz, a former Green Beret, once fought to protect the Constitution and the First Amendment.
The debate got heated as both Waltz spoke over Bash to claim journalists had earned the ban with irresponsible reporting.
“Hold on, hold on, hold on!” Bash cried. “The question of national security is one that every serious news organization takes seriously. That is quite different from the president saying that he’s not happy.”
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