Trump Press Ban Backfires as Aides Leak Humiliating Motive Behind It

Donald Trump’s efforts to ban news organizations from the White House are backfiring. Trump said straight out that he barred them because their coverage displeased him, and when the outlets sued on Monday, they cited his own words as proof that he’d retaliated against their reporting. That’s likely to work. And other news outlets sided with them, suspending pooled coverage and resulting in Trump getting less TV attention. Meanwhile, Axios reports that Trump advisers confide that they fear he’s feeling “powerless” as his losses pile up and a likely midterm defeat approaches. He’s retreating “to his worst impulses” and this “helps explain” his press ban, per Axios: Because Trump feels his power slipping away, he “lashed out” at these organizations and banned them. That’s surely correct, and it’s humiliating. We talked to Kristy Parker, counsel at Protect Democracy. She explains why Trump’s ban probably won’t survive the courts, why his lashing out at moments of feeling powerless makes him so dangerous, and why she’s cautiously optimistic about our system holding. Listen to this episode here.