Trump isn't kidding about this journalist ban

Senior White House Reporter Betsy Klein told CNN on Saturday that she’d scanned her press badge at White House security only to have her PIN rejected. “The Secret Service agent in the guard house, with whom I have been friendly in the past, asked to see my badge,” a clearly furious Klein said. “He told me it had been deactivated.” Klein showed CNN the empty lanyard where her badge used to be, an appropriate metaphor for the further erosion of a free press amid the Trump administration. Yet despite the barriers the Trump administration is building to keep journalists like Klein out (say nothing of the new barrier between her and that Secret Service agent, oof), Klein remained undeterred in covering the Trump White House, saying, “We can do our job anywhere.” 

MS NOW White House correspondent Akayla Gardner also spoke about her experience being denied access to the White House. “I attempted to scan my badge, which we have to do to get into the White House grounds. It did not work,” she said. “There was a red beeping light, and so the officer asked me to hand over my badge. He said that it was disabled. I asked why I could not get inside. He said it was above him.” 

Despite this odious and alarming turn of events, CNN and MS NOW aren’t taking the insult lying down. “CNN’s mission to report on the U.S. government will continue regardless of any attempts to restrict physical access to the White House and other government buildings, or any other attempts to impede our journalism. We have a right under the U.S. Constitution to do our reporting without hindrance or interference from the government and this ban is an illegal assault on this fundamental right,” it said in a statement. MS NOW showed similar defiance, posting, “The White House belongs to the American people and the decisions made inside are funded by our tax dollars. MS NOW intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalism in our democracy. We stand firmly behind our anchors, our reporters, and our newsroom. We will continue to report on the President, the administration, and the issues that impact the American people.”