Legal blow for Trump as ruling by GOP judges 'bodes poorly' for media ban

President Donald Trump on August 27, 2026, at Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base in Houston, Texas (Photo Credit: NASA/John Kraus)

President Donald Trump — who has vowed and so far successfully managed to ban critical news outlets like MS NOW, CNN and Politico from the White House — suffered a major legal blow in that anti-free press crusade.

"A federal appeals court ruling Tuesday on demonstrators’ access to the steps of the Capitol could bode poorly for President Donald Trump’s attempt to ban three media organizations from the White House," Politico's Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein wrote on Tuesday. "The majority opinion, written by Trump appointee Neomi Rao, concluded that the East Steps of the Capitol are a 'nonpublic forum' — just like most areas of the White House grounds, including the press facilities."

Cheney and Gerstein added, "While the government may impose restrictions on access to those nonpublic areas, the limits must be 'viewpoint neutral,' apply 'objective, workable standards' and not permit officials to exercise 'unbridled discretion over a forum’s use,' the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel concluded."

They continued, "'A regulation that grants the government arbitrary control over who may speak invites the suppression of disfavored viewpoints and undermines the First Amendment’s core protections,' wrote Rao, who was joined in the majority by Judge Karen Henderson, a George H.W. Bush appointee."

Trump, meanwhile, posted on Truth Social on Monday that he has imposed the bans explicitly because he dislikes how those outlets cover him.

"Fake News people and publications that only write negatively, and who violate our National Security by writing false and defamatory stories with unknown ‘sources,’ shouldn’t be allowed access to the most important Office anywhere in the World," Trump posted on his own social media platform.

In addition to trying to ban outlets that say things he does not like, Trump also recently launched his own 24/7 news network, Trump TV, which he describes as a live-streaming YouTube channel that includes "the Trump Administration's biggest moments all in one place."

Writing for The i Paper on Sunday, columnist James Ball argued that Trump is also trying to stimulate his own base in addition to stifling media critics.

"It is typical of Trump, when things aren’t going his way, to lash out," Ball argued. "Sometimes, this is savvy: Trump’s followers have historically liked it when he gets into a fight with the mainstream media, and at the moment they are far less enthusiastic about Trump than once they were. On paper, this could be an effort to pick a fight that would cheer up the MAGA base."

From Your Site Articles