US President Donald Trump launced a new helipad on the White House South Lawn on Monday, but viewers watching the ceremony live could barely hear him. The sound of a helicopter drowned out his remarks from start to finish.
“Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.
Americans deserve a free and independent media covering their government without intimidation, as well as comprehensive coverage of newsworthy events,” Charlie Stadtlander, a spokesperson for The New York Times, said. “This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes,” the outlets said in a joint statement Monday. “Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting,” the statement continued. Jameel Jaffer, executive director of Columbia University’s Knight First Amendment Institute, said it was a source of “government propaganda. “This just makes it even clearer that the real goal here is to ensure that the American public is fed a steady diet of government propaganda,” he said.
“We remain committed to covering the president’s travel to New York City today.
So I wasn’t very worried about that. Look at all that press.
Mamdani said, “I told the president that we’re gonna have all the members of the press here on the lawn. Trump responded, “They said they were gonna boycott me but they never boycott me. The White House also launched a new “Trump TV” stream on Monday, Reuters reported. The administration said the stream would feature videos and highlights of the “Trump administration’s achievements.”
The television standoff came the same day that CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued the Trump administration over their exclusion from the White House. A hearing was scheduled for Wednesday.
The three outlets said they were seeking a temporary restraining order in federal court in Washington, DC.
