After Trump barred CNN, Politico and MS NOW from White House grounds, the press-pool networks suspended the pool’s rolling coverage in solidarity. Trump angrily accused CNN and MS NOW of skipping Xi Jinping’s arrival; participating networks did not film Xi’s arrival.
Trump claimed the outlets stayed away because they did not want him to receive credit for the reception, and called them “Fake News.” A judge has temporarily blocked the ban. The article argues that the networks’ solidarity denied Trump broad coverage and shows how collective resistance can constrain him.
To support its view that Trump’s political standing has weakened, the piece cites Cook Political Report’s shift of 15 House race ratings toward Democrats. North Carolina’s 11th and Texas’s 15th moved from Lean Republican to Toss Up, though Trump had carried them by nearly 10 and 18 points, respectively; Florida’s 27th moved from Likely Republican to Lean Republican.
