Rubio defends Trump ban on three media outlets

Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended President Donald Trump’s decision to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, saying Tuesday that the administration is limiting their access to the presidential complex, not shutting them down.

“We’re not closing CNN,” Rubio said in an interview on NBC News’ “TODAY.” “There aren’t a bunch of police officers or soldiers kicking down the doors of MSNBC or MS NOW, whatever it’s called, and arresting people and unplugging it from the grid. They’re just not allowed to work from the workspace at the White House.”

Trump announced the ban Friday, accusing the three outlets of repeatedly publishing what he called “FAKE NEWS” about his administration. The White House said the First Amendment protects the right to publish but does not guarantee access to the White House, the briefing room or the presidential press pool. The decision took effect Saturday, when journalists from the three organizations were denied entry and had their credentials revoked, Al Jazeera reported.

The three outlets sued the administration Monday, arguing that the ban violates their First Amendment and due process rights. Their lawsuit says the action “retaliates against protected newsgathering and speech” and bars them “from a nonpublic forum for unlawful reasons.” A federal judge is expected to consider their request for a temporary restraining order.

Rubio said Trump believes the outlets have shown bias against his administration and therefore do not have a right to remain inside the White House building. “What he is arguing is, why should I have these people, what right do they have to be embedded in this building?” Rubio said. “They can cover the White House. They just can’t have a desk there.”

The ban has disrupted the White House television pool, an arrangement that allows networks to share video and other coverage from events where space is limited. Major television networks, including NBC News, withheld pool coverage of Trump at least through Monday after CNN was removed from the rotation. Individual networks, including NBC News, have continued covering White House events open to the press, and reporters continue to report on the administration outside pool events.

Television pool coverage of other administration officials has continued. CNN provided TV pool coverage of Rubio on Monday. Asked whether he planned to change pool coverage for himself, Rubio said, “We haven’t discussed it.”

Vice President JD Vance also defended the ban Monday, saying, “We’re not going to give you special access to the White House if you engage in what is effectively far-left propaganda,” according to Al Jazeera. He described the move as a matter of “basic fairness.” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he told Trump during a meeting at Gracie Mansion that he wanted all members of the press present. “We’re going to have all of the members of the press here on the lawn,” Mamdani said. “And that is something that I believe in – everyone, no matter the opinion or the critique that we engage.”

On Monday evening, the White House launched “Trump TV,” a 24-hour streaming channel on YouTube and the White House website featuring videos and speeches from the president. At launch, it aired an archived Trump speech from July at Mount Rushmore. “Get real-time updates and live events streamed DIRECTLY to your phone,” the White House wrote on social media. “No noise. Just the news that matters most — straight from the Trump Administration.”

Rubio also addressed the war with Iran, which has driven up oil and gas prices. An NBC News poll found that 62% of registered voters think the war has not been worth the costs. Rubio said “anyone who’s concerned about prices itself is not wrong,” but argued prices would be far higher if Iran had a nuclear weapon and could “choke off the world’s energy supply any time they wanted.”

Trump is set to address the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday and hold a summit in Washington with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week, where artificial intelligence is expected to be a major topic. Rubio said AI development cannot be stopped and called for “guardrails and frameworks” to preserve benefits while reducing risks, though he said, “I don’t think anyone has an easy answer.”