The unveiling of President Trump’s new helipad on the South Lawn of the White House yesterday was a curious affair. Trump cut a ribbon with the CEO of Lockheed Martin, who donated the helipad, and then attempted to address the media who were present. Viewers on TV could see what was happening – but they could only hear a low, ethereal whooshing noise. The main TV networks’ boom mics were nowhere to be seen – as ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News suspended their pool coverage of Trump, in solidarity with CNN and MS NOW, whose credentials were arbitrarily revoked by Trump on Friday afternoon. “He pretty much yelled into a static void for nine minutes and then left,” one of Trump’s favorite reporters wrote on Instagram. “Maybe… this is one example of it backfiring just a little bit,” Newsmax’s Bianca de la Garza reluctantly pointed out on air.
Will the Trump administration rue giving members of the mainstream media a chance to make themselves the center of attention?
In his post banning CNN and MS NOW, alongside Politico, Trump said his decision was due to “their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS! Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America.” It’s not yet clear which particular story, or stories, prompted his ire. CNN reported that Natalie Harp, Trump’s executive assistant, showed Trump some negative coverage, which led to the ban.
Cockburn is a fierce defender of the First Amendment and all that – particularly in a week when Xi Jinping is visiting the capital, and our leaders should be showing off the West’s best attributes, et cetera, et cetera. But he can’t help but suspect that the decision to ban CNN and MS NOW, in particular, goes back further than last week. There have been a series of confrontational back-and-forths between reporters from those networks and Trump in the Oval Office – often involving Trump being interrupted and accusing the journalists of being “very rude.”
CNN, MS NOW and Politico are trying to regain access to the White House through the courts. They’ve filed a motion which will be considered by a Trump-appointed judge who oversaw a similar case in Trump’s first term, when Jim Acosta had his credentials revoked for sparring – or grandstanding, depending on your persuasion – with administration officials. Cockburn wonders if the Trump administration will rue giving members of the mainstream media a chance to do what they do best: make themselves the center of attention. He’s reminded of “l’affaire Kimmel,” and feels a similar sense of “is this really the hill we have to die on?”
Never ones to let a crisis go to waste, the Trump White House have used the TV pool debacle to launch “Trump TV,” which will offer “the Trump administration’s biggest moments all in one place. Top videos, major remarks, and must-see highlights.” (If the promos were anything to go by, Cockburn wondered if he could expect some AI-generated elements too.) Upon closer inspection, it appears to be a 24/7 YouTube livestream. Sit back, relax and enjoy non-stop re-runs, on the only station playing Trump’s greatest hits.
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