Secretary of State Marco Rubio staunchly defended President Trump’s decision to bar MS NOW, CNN and Politico from the White House during a heated interview on NBC’s “Today” show Tuesday, telling co-host Craig Melvin he “can’t blame” Trump for the move given what he described as coverage that often sounds sympathetic to Iran.
Rubio pushed back repeatedly on Melvin’s characterization of the move as a “ban,” insisting the terminology was inaccurate.
“With all due respect, should media outlets be banned because the president doesn’t like their coverage?” Melvin asked.
“Well, they’re not banned—” Rubio began, before Melvin interjected sharply.
“They are banned! They’re banned from the White House,” Melvin responded.
“No they’re not. No, we’re not closing CNN — well that’s different,” Rubio said, as the two talked over one another briefly. “What they want is access to the workspace the president uses.”
When Melvin pressed further, asking whether the situation sat right with him, Rubio explained the president’s reasoning directly.
“The president feels very strongly that ‘Why should I have people working in my building and my office that I believe are not honestly covering my administration.’ That’s how he feels,” Rubio said. “We’re not closing CNN. 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 White House.”
Trump revoked White House access for the three outlets last Friday, and the administration escalated the dispute Monday by removing CNN from its scheduled television pool assignment.
Trump defended the decision in a Truth Social post, claiming he cherishes a free press but described the three outlets as purveyors of “FAKE NEWS.”
“It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America,” Trump wrote. “It is corrupt, purposeful, pervasive, fully coordinated, and totally out of control. It is a threat to our National Security, and must be stopped, NOW! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
In response, the three outlets filed a joint lawsuit against the White House, arguing the ban discriminates based on editorial viewpoint and has caused irreparable harm to their organizations.
Rubio told Melvin part of his support for Trump’s decision stems from his frustration with how the press has covered the ongoing war with Iran.
“I watch a lot of American news coverage, and it sounds, in some cases for example, like they’re rooting for Iran,” Rubio said. “It sounds like they highlight anything Iran says in their public statements as true, and they downplay everything American officials say as wrong.”
Rubio closed by arguing the outlets don’t have a constitutional right to operate from inside the White House, framing the issue as a matter of physical access rather than press freedom.
“What Trump is arguing is, ‘What right do they have to be embedded in this building?’ They can cover the White House, they just can’t have a desk there,” Rubio said.
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