According to the report, President Donald J. Trump instructed the White House press office to remove CNN, MSNOW and Politico from the building, saying he was "furious" with the way the outlets covered him.
In response, the four major television networks – Fox News among them – have reportedly taken their cameras out of the White House, leaving the president without the usual live‑feed coverage that had been a staple of his daily appearances.
Media companies have filed lawsuits claiming that the president’s actions "threaten press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference," the article notes.
At a recent Republican midterm political convention in Dallas, Trump urged supporters, including those who are not registered voters, to "cheat like hell, like they [the Democrats] do" and to turn out for the November midterm elections.
The piece also references Trump’s broader confrontations with the press, including past defamation suits against The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, threats to revoke broadcast licences of CBS and ABC, and cuts to public media such as PBS and NPR.
House Republican Majority Leader Steve Scalise is quoted as saying he does not understand why Trump took the step to ban the media, indicating uncertainty within the party about the move’s repercussions.
Observers in the article warn that the media ban could spark a constitutional crisis over the First Amendment and may affect Republican prospects in the upcoming midterm elections.