President Trump's decision to ban "fake news" from the White House press room illustrates a continuing problem with his leadership style. While it is true that there is no Constitutional right to be in the press room, President Trump retaliated against news organizations and restricted their access to him because he is offended by their coverage of him.
(This is not new, obviously. President Obama attempted to isolate Fox News in his first term, but backed off when there was a backlash. There are plenty of other historical examples as well, and Democrats have been just as bad as President Trump. The difference is that President Trump is much more blunt, instead of doing it secretly.)
But this is part of a disturbing effort to use presidential power to silence, bully or intimidate critics. Remember, President Trump has repeatedly threatened to revoke broadcast licenses of news media outlets when he dislikes their coverage, which would be an obscene abuse of power and corruption of the regulatory process. Conservatives used to understand the dangers of a powerful federal government flexing its muscles to advance political goals, such as when Democrats attempted to re-instate the so-called "fairness doctrine" to silence Rush Limbaugh.
The primary lesson here, though, is that President Trump is a very brittle man. He becomes enraged at any attacks and often even simple disagreement, especially from his own political side. MAGA accounts on social media repeat and then ramp up the rhetoric about how terrible President Trump's political opponents are, often with violent or sexually-charged rhetoric. It's not good for men to be brittle and have an instinct to "punch back" at every real or perceived slight. That shows a lack of maturity and professionalism, which is nothing new for this President. Sometimes being a man is knowing when to walk away or let something slide. As much as conservatives were frustrated with President Bush for not fighting back, it can be taken too far. Banning "fake news" is an example of that.
On banning "fake news" from the White House
This is part of a disturbing effort to use presidential power to silence, bully or intimidate critics.
