00:00:02
Speaker 1: Hey there, folks. It is Monday, September 21st, and news networks are calling President Trump's bluff after he kicked some outlets out of the White House. Now, there's going to be no camera following him around today. And, Robes, how do you think he's going to like that? Everybody, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. Robes, there is no independent news outlet, TV camera, following the President of the United States. Today, that's a problem.
00:00:35
Speaker 2: On a very important day.
00:00:36
Speaker 1: That's a problem.
00:00:37
Speaker 2: Yes, I believe, yes, when the President does anything today, there will be no television camera designated to cover him, to follow him. They won't be broadcasting anything. They won't be sharing any footage. There is no press pool available photographer with the president today.
00:00:57
Speaker 1: That's huge. It's necessary. You have to have an independent press with the president at all times. It's just how you document history robes. It's how you have independent, how you can trust actually that the news and the information you're getting is not just filtered state media that you're getting. Robes. We got nothing today.
00:01:21
Speaker 2: It's the cornerstone.
00:01:22
Speaker 1: We got nothing.
00:01:23
Speaker 2: It's the foundation of our democracy, a free press.
00:01:28
Speaker 1: And credit to the Fox News of the world and the ABCs, everybody who has now come together to make this happen. Robes, this started, what was it, Friday? Friday. With the president saying he's going to kick out CNN, Politico, and MS now. Because why, Robes? What did they do that upset him so much?
00:01:47
Speaker 2: They haven't given him favorable coverage.
00:01:49
Speaker 1: There it is. They keep reporting that the Reflecting Bull was not vandalized. Stuff like that.
00:01:55
Speaker 2: He says they're spreading lies and misinformation, and that's why he's banned them, just so. And we'll get into all of his words, because he did put this out on Truth Social, and not only did he threaten it, he followed through with it over the weekend.
00:02:08
Speaker 1: I should warn us. We seem to already be dripping in some sarcasm. We should probably dial it back. Okay.
00:02:14
Speaker 2: And I'm the same way.
00:02:15
Speaker 1: It's nuts.
00:02:16
Speaker 2: This is personal, and this should be personal for everybody. Yes, we're members of the media. Yes, we take what we do seriously, as should every citizen of the United States of America. And yes, we all collectively should be deeply disturbed that the president is trying to silence news outlets because he doesn't like what they're reporting. That is frightening.
00:02:41
Speaker 1: The way he explains it, I'm trying to get away with it, Robes, is that these He's only denying them access to him. You can write what you want, but I don't have to let you cover me, is his argument. Yes, that is a constitutional problem as well. That is a complete, all of this, folks, is not legal.
00:02:59
Speaker 2: Exactly.
00:02:59
Speaker 1: It's not.
00:03:00
Speaker 2: And so it is kind of awesome. That you have ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, Fox News. These are the main five networks who cover the president, and they've had a longstanding agreement that you pool the coverage, so to speak. So you take turns in charge of filming and following the president, and then you give that footage and all of that content to all the networks to disseminate.
00:03:29
Speaker 1: You have to do that because, obviously, if you've got all these TV networks with a producer... Camera guy, audio guy, obviously everybody can't fit into the Oval Office or the plane, whatever it is. So this is just done. It's understood. Network share, no big deal. So Robes, the rotation now comes to CNN. on a day that they're banned. It's their turn to provide TV camera footage of the president. Today, when he's coming to New York, has kind of a busy day, doesn't he?
00:03:59
Speaker 2: Very busy day. You know, the UN General Assembly is in session. And so yes, this is a very big deal. And I do think it's pretty cool that the Fox News Washington bureau chief chairs the pool. So He is the one who had to make the announcement.
00:04:16
Speaker 1: Yes.
00:04:17
Speaker 2: Sorry, excuse me. She is the one. Well, Brian Bouton is the one who, I guess, sent the email out to everybody from Fox News. That's why I said he, but he chairs the pool, basically. And I appreciate this. He said that there will not be pool coverage of the president's events today. And this was the quote in an email. This follows the White House's position preventing CNN from From fulfilling its assigned pool duties, there will be no replacement pool put in place.
00:04:48
Speaker 1: Boom.
00:04:49
Speaker 2: Boom.
00:04:51
Speaker 1: Robes, what do we do? He's going to Mamdani's house today, isn't he? Yep. Isn't that meeting today?
00:04:55
Speaker 2: Got a busy day. Going to Gracie Mansion to talk with the New York mayor.
00:04:59
Speaker 1: Okay. So you folks as citizens do not have a camera on your president today. Wow. There'll be some other events. There might be some local events. Folks who maybe at Gracie Mansion seeing.
00:05:15
Speaker 2: Him going in, maybe not.
00:05:15
Speaker 1: I don't know how that works.
00:05:16
Speaker 2: I don't know how that works because you have to have clearance.
00:05:19
Speaker 1: He has a White House pool.
00:05:20
Speaker 2: There's no way. I don't think that that could be switched up. And by the way, yes, we're talking about our five main networks here and this pool coverage, but that video, that content is disseminated to all the local TV stations across the country. It gets sent out to newspaper websites everywhere. So a lot of the pictures and photos you see on whatever, USA Today or the Wall Street Journal, whatever you go to to find your political news or what's going on with the president, all of those images come from that pool photographer and producer and reporter. So this doesn't just affect the five networks. This affects everybody.
00:06:08
Speaker 1: I think that's something we do not have a representative covering the president for us today. Now, Robes, there are some, and I see his supporters already saying, yeah, kick him out. All they do is not do real news.
00:06:21
Speaker 2: They don't do your bidding? That's concerning.
00:06:25
Speaker 1: But, Robes, and I think we were all open to the idea. I didn't mind. They were letting in some more independent journalists into the press briefing room. They had a thing. They were a rotating group. Like the first question always went to somebody from an alternative outlet kind of a thing. And yes, some of them were conservatives, a lot of them were, and that's fine. I don't necessarily think that's bad. Robes, when you're shuffling so many more people into the room that think like you and support you, the types of folks who are going to ask you the questions that you appreciate, the softballs, you're pushing out the CNNs of the world. Robes, you're tiptoeing up to state media. you're tiptoeing up to, yep, you all aren't here covering me, the ones I want, and now we're gonna put out exactly what we want. Robes, this is as close, with the pool, it just happened. I think this wouldn't be as big of a deal if it wasn't CNN's turn in the pool rotation.
00:07:18
Speaker 2: I love that it was.
00:07:19
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:07:20
Speaker 2: And it's just the way it turned out. And I love that the media has banded together and they have pooled together, to use a phrase, but that's exactly what's happened. And yes, you mentioned tiptoeing towards state media. Mm-hmm. This latest announcement on Friday and this decision to ban people he doesn't like they're reporting from access to him, babe, that's storming through. He stopped tiptoeing. He's charging full steam ahead towards state media. I don't even think he would deny wanting only people who report positive things about him to be given access to him.
00:07:57
Speaker 1: I would really like to do, like as a serious exercise to whoever at the White House is Like submit stories from five different networks about whatever, the exact same story. Will you all please rewrite these in a way you think is fair or eliminate the stuff you think is? I'm curious, what could someone write that could still be honest and fair that they wouldn't deem not supportive enough and you got to go? Like what is it they want people to do? Say nothing negative? Say nothing critical? What is supposed to happen? The truth of the matter is the truth of the matter. The reflecting pool sucks because of how you operated and how you moved. Okay. So that means we can't cover the White House because how am I supposed to cover that story? Just say the president said it was vandalized. Oh, well.
00:08:48
Speaker 2: That's state media.
00:08:49
Speaker 1: How were you supposed... But to satisfy them, what is fair? Like, what network do they not have a problem with? They seem to like Kristen Welker for a while, or he did.
00:08:59
Speaker 2: Until he didn't.
00:09:00
Speaker 1: Until he didn't.
00:09:01
Speaker 2: Until she reported something he didn't think was nice.
00:09:06
Speaker 1: Who does he like in the mainstream? Who does he show favorable, give interviews to? Who?
00:09:14
Speaker 2: I don't know. Because it changes daily. And I just, this is so deeply disturbing, and I actually think it needed to almost come to this point. It had to reach this point for us to now actually call him, and I do think this is the best way to do it, to now not have anyone covering anything he does and see how he likes that.
00:09:35
Speaker 1: Maybe he will. Maybe he can, he's, I don't know, got the press he wants following him around now, saying the only things or asking the only questions he wants. Maybe he likes that. Or Robes, is he going to get to a point? I mean, he's the president. He can find a camera, I guess. But Robes, this dramatically cuts down on the coverage of him. Nobody's standing out there on the tarmac asking questions. Nobody's in the Oval Office.
00:10:00
Speaker 2: Asking.
00:10:00
Speaker 1: You know, he loved doing those press gaggles.
00:10:03
Speaker 2: Oh, he loves it. He loves it. And on Air Force One, standing around, talking to the press. And yes, he's taken the opportunity to eviscerate specifically female reporters about how they look, how they're not smiling. I mean, he has... He has.
00:10:19
Speaker 2: Been horrific.
00:10:20
Speaker 1: Quiet piggy. I remember that one. Yes. Quiet piggy.
00:10:23
Speaker 2: He has been horrific to so many, specifically female reporters, and they've continued to cover him. They've continued to show up. And look, you know, I give them credit for that. That is, we might say, oh, big deal. That is not easy to continue to ask meaningful questions, to continue to to speak on behalf of the American people or at least on behalf of their viewers to ask critical questions that need to be asked and know that you're going to be possibly publicly humiliated for how you look, for your appearance, for not smiling, all of that. That is a hostile work environment created by the President of the United States. And they still show up.
00:11:09
Speaker 1: This is always hilarious. It's always some point in the middle of the podcast I go, ah. That is an aha moment I think most don't realize. Women, we work in high power industries and Robes, you have experienced things and women have to experience things in a workplace that men don't even have to cross your mind. And a lot of that does have to do with how they're treated, how they're looked at, how they're viewed and how they're dressed and how they're criticized and all this. Women go in every single day to a hostile work environment. Robes? The Oval Office? Shouldn't be. And the one person, the only person you walk in there in fear of, insulting you, putting you down, is the leader of the free world. That's awful for those women because we know women who are in that room.
00:12:01
Speaker 2: Absolutely.
00:12:02
Speaker 1: I think about Rachel Scott all the time in there. She was insulted. He was screaming at her not too terribly long ago about something.
00:12:08
Speaker 2: These are good, decent, kind, hardworking, intelligent women. And the fact that they can continue to go into that Oval Office and know that they're literally walking into a potential firing squad with the president taking direct aim, they're still willing to go in there and cover him and try to be objective. And now he still, even after insulting them and humiliating them, now he's taken away their press credentials. It really, it needs to be called out. We've always seen a slightly adversarial role between the president and the press corps, and that needs to be in place because, yes, we have to be able to be critical and to be curious and to hold people accountable and to ask the questions. And to do it in those conditions is hard enough, but now to be denied access? This is... I, I, I've had a loss for words just when I think he can't do something else. He, he finds a way to, to just anger everybody. So now he's even got competing members of the media banding together.
00:13:17
Speaker 1: He, he, uh, he brought Fox news and MS now together.
00:13:22
Speaker 2: That's a hard thing to do. I don't know anyone else who could have done it.
00:13:25
Speaker 1: Um, Again, I know we focus on Fox, but we do give all of them credit. Every time this has come up, Roe, and there have been several times over his two administrations, I think, that he tried to ban someone. When he kicked out the AP out of the Oval Office in particular.
00:13:41
Speaker 2: Because they wouldn't call it the Gulf of America. Right?
00:13:44
Speaker 1: Kicked them out over that. Now, is that fake news? Like, that is the reason he kicked them out. It is. And he's saying... I'm tired of the fake report. It's the Associated Press. So now, here we go, and they're defending it. Who is this guy, Waltz, the UN guy who was on with Dana Bash yesterday, justifying it, saying he's well within his rights, and he's not.
00:14:12
Speaker 2: No, constitutionally speaking, he is not well within his rights. And when we come back, we're going to tell you about this new joint statement from CNN, MSNOW, and Politico saying, And yes, we'll get that original True Social post, perhaps, that set this whole thing off. Welcome back, everyone, to Amy and TJ. So yes, we just got a new joint statement from CNN, MSNOW, and Politico, and this is the announcement of their official lawsuit against the White House. It reads, this morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights. Short, sweet, to the point. They're asking for an emergency injunction. They want somebody to rule on this immediately so they can get their access back.
00:15:30
Speaker 1: They need to be covered. They're journalists. Their stories, literally, they go up to the security line. Folks they've been seeing for years, same security guys. Car doesn't work. They just say, I'm sorry. This is above my pay grade. I can't let you in. Yeah. They are deactivating these people's IDs.
00:15:47
Speaker 2: And there were other members of the media actually documenting this and watching reports. Yes, long time, decades-long reporters, producers, photographers who've walked in and out with access. Because, yes, to go through the process of being credentials as a reporter way back when, when I worked in D.C., you jump through all these hoops. You go through security clearances. You get them annually renewed. But this is a big deal to have that press credential, to get into the Senate and House office buildings, to have White House access. All of this is hard-earned, documented, and recorded, and an important part of the process.
00:16:20
Speaker 1: And it's a point of, you know, it's kind of a point of pride. I know it's for them. And over the years, it becomes the workplace. But you never forget.
00:16:30
Speaker 2: No.
00:16:30
Speaker 1: You get to walk into the White House every day. It's a big deal. And to have that pass and to have that access and to have earned that. That's a big deal.
00:16:35
Speaker 2: So then to have your access denied is one thing, but these reporters and photojournalists, their badges were taken. Like, again, a humiliating thing. It's kind of like, I don't know if you've ever been let go or fired like boxes, boxes down onto floor four. You know, it's just kind of like a public humiliation of give me your pass. You're not allowed in. Bye. It is that. And that was happening all weekend long. So now we've got a lawsuit. And we also have now another true social post from the president as of this morning. And it reads here, the White House is not instituting an assault on the free press, something which I cherish. It is instituting an assault on the fake news, something that has grown like cancer in our beloved United States of America. 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. It's a threat to his ego.
00:17:46
Speaker 1: I don't know. You just say stuff. Can you back any of that up? You can just say what you want, Dave. I don't know. His people, I guess, take this seriously. I say his people, his supporters. He's got plenty of supporters who like his policy. Is anybody celebrating that statement?
00:18:05
Speaker 2: Well, it has 11,000 likes on it so far. It's been up for about... two hours now, two and a half hours. So look, there are always going to be people who it's, it's, isn't it good though, when you rally the base to have a common enemy and to make the common enemy, the media that is, uh, I guess something that might resonate with some folks, but I do think it is. And again, you pointed out Fox news, but I do think it is important. A lot of people who support the president will obviously are big Fox News channel watchers, period. And so for Fox News to take the stand alongside CNN, Politico, MSNOW, that should speak volumes, or at least I hope it will for some folks who can say, yeah, let's look and see what we're actually witnessing right now.
00:18:54
Speaker 1: I don't know if the Fox News part is a big headline. I have been seeing everywhere in this coverage that he banned this place, this place, and this place. The support that Fox is giving to CNN is a headline and does give context to the story. But I don't know if it's been talked about that much. I wonder what Fox is actually, how they're covering it today. They don't want to piss this guy off either. They really do not. And so what happens now with this idea? Robes, we have worked. You know what? Two of the three places that have been banned, we have worked at. Yes. Two of the three places. Yes. I spent time at two of them. Everybody can guess. We didn't work at Politico. But we've spent time. Robes, an assault on the fake news grown like a cancer because it's corrupt, purposeful, pervasive, and fully coordinated. Robes, we've got decades in these places. No. Not one. is there ever a discussion, a political discussion, or I was ever told to do this or to lean that way. Not once in my career. I'm almost even shocked to say that out loud. It never has happened. Sure, people have their leanings. They have their ideas and But there is not a coordinated effort in the halls of ABC or CNN to do this.
00:20:14
Speaker 2: Or even MSNBC now. It was MSNBC back in the day when we were both there, but no. And by the way, this is separate from the nighttime shows where they've got left-leaning and right-leaning folks this is about the actual news coverage. And that should be distinguished. I think some people see just the Rachel Maddows of the world and say, oh, yes, that's not what we're talking about.
00:20:40
Speaker 1: He didn't ban Rachel Maddow from the White House.
00:20:42
Speaker 2: We're talking about the journalists who actually report the news headlines during the day, not the folks who have obvious political leanings. And clearly, yes, we know each network has a leaning. But I can tell you, and you can speak directly to the fact that never once while we worked at any of those organizations were we ever told to play to a certain political party, to give good or negative coverage to any one political figure ever, ever, ever, ever. I do believe nearly everyone who is a journalist at those organizations does their best to be objective.
00:21:19
Speaker 1: You know what? I've been asked not to ask a celebrity a certain question because it might piss off their PR person and then our people won't get the next interview.
00:21:26
Speaker 2: So true.
00:21:26
Speaker 1: That's happened.
00:21:27
Speaker 2: That absolutely happens.
00:21:28
Speaker 1: 100%.
00:21:29
Speaker 2: Frequently. And it's been very upsetting to me and you both at different moments.
00:21:33
Speaker 1: Yes.
00:21:33
Speaker 2: And we'll call that out because it has happened.
00:21:36
Speaker 1: Never.
00:21:37
Speaker 2: It has never happened.
00:21:38
Speaker 1: In politics.
00:21:38
Speaker 2: And in fact, when I was doing the Hunter Biden interview, I got so much direction about making sure I was tough on him and making sure I asked the tough follow-ups so as to not even make anyone believe that we had any sort of leaning towards or being in favor of him. I would say we went the opposite. We pushed harder than we might have normally because we didn't want to give off any sort of appearance that we were giving him any sort of, cushy PR campaign of an interview. So I would say I've experienced it in the other way. But look, remember in that original post that he put out on Friday that set this all into motion, he said other fake news media outlets to follow. He threatened beyond MSNOW, beyond CNN, beyond Politico. He said there is more to come. I wonder if that will now be true given the reaction and the lawsuit against And what he's going to experience today with no media coverage.
00:22:50
Speaker 1: Or they might start putting stuff out left and right. Maybe they'll put out a video of him with Mom Donnie, edited the exact way they want it to be edited.
00:22:58
Speaker 2: That's scary.
00:22:59
Speaker 1: Maybe that is terrifying. Oh, terrifying. So we will see. But they are defending this. They're going to lose in court. They're clearly going to lose in court if they don't decide to give up ahead of time. But I can't imagine them doing so. This is going to be another loss for the president. He's kind of racking them up here lately, babe. But he is choosing to take this fight. This is major. This is Jimmy Kimmel again. This is all this is. You're not allowed to speak. These are the views. Everybody had not. And again, these are left-leaning folks. I get it, you don't like it, but they have a right to say it. And you're the one guy who is supposed to defend their right to do it more than anybody else in the country.
00:23:36
Speaker 2: Absolutely. Imagine if you had, I don't know, the leftist-leaning president you could imagine, and you banned Fox News from covering them.
00:23:43
Speaker 1: Obama said that. That's a problem. Remember that clip? Yes, yes.
00:23:45
Speaker 2: That's hilarious. He said, can you imagine what would have happened? You're right, he did say that. If I would have banned Fox News from covering me because I didn't like what they said about me? It's not possible. And you mentioned Jackie Heinrich earlier. She's the president of the White House Correspondents Association. And she seemed kind of chummy with him when they had to redo the correspondence dinner. And he said some nice things about her, and she seemed to be pleasant enough with him. She made a very bold statement saying the implications extend beyond these organizations. A standard used to exclude one news outlet because of its coverage could be applied to any outlet in the future. And that's directly what Obama was talking about.
00:24:24
Speaker 1: Beware.
00:24:24
Speaker 2: You might say, oh, hell yeah, because it's President Trump. What happens with the next president? What happens if right-leaning, more conservative, if the Wall Street Journal is kicked out, if Fox News is kicked out?
00:24:36
Speaker 1: Where I, Jackie, work currently.
00:24:38
Speaker 2: Exactly.
00:24:39
Speaker 1: Yes, Jackie is a Fox News lady. Yes. They get it, no matter what you say. And look, you know I like some folks at Fox and how they go about their business.
00:24:48
Speaker 2: We're fans of Bret Baier.
00:24:49
Speaker 1: We are fans. So Robes, I'd love to see them banding together. What is the president going to do? Robes, this is other level stuff. There is no independent press camera on the president of the United States.
00:25:02
Speaker 2: We'll see what happens next. But we know there will be a next. And with that, everyone, we always appreciate you listening to us. I'm Amy Robach alongside TJ Holmes. We'll talk soon.
Speaker 1: Hey there, folks. It is Monday, September 21st, and news networks are calling President Trump's bluff after he kicked some outlets out of the White House. Now, there's going to be no camera following him around today. And, Robes, how do you think he's going to like that? Everybody, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. Robes, there is no independent news outlet, TV camera, following the President of the United States. Today, that's a problem.
00:00:35
Speaker 2: On a very important day.
00:00:36
Speaker 1: That's a problem.
00:00:37
Speaker 2: Yes, I believe, yes, when the President does anything today, there will be no television camera designated to cover him, to follow him. They won't be broadcasting anything. They won't be sharing any footage. There is no press pool available photographer with the president today.
00:00:57
Speaker 1: That's huge. It's necessary. You have to have an independent press with the president at all times. It's just how you document history robes. It's how you have independent, how you can trust actually that the news and the information you're getting is not just filtered state media that you're getting. Robes. We got nothing today.
00:01:21
Speaker 2: It's the cornerstone.
00:01:22
Speaker 1: We got nothing.
00:01:23
Speaker 2: It's the foundation of our democracy, a free press.
00:01:28
Speaker 1: And credit to the Fox News of the world and the ABCs, everybody who has now come together to make this happen. Robes, this started, what was it, Friday? Friday. With the president saying he's going to kick out CNN, Politico, and MS now. Because why, Robes? What did they do that upset him so much?
00:01:47
Speaker 2: They haven't given him favorable coverage.
00:01:49
Speaker 1: There it is. They keep reporting that the Reflecting Bull was not vandalized. Stuff like that.
00:01:55
Speaker 2: He says they're spreading lies and misinformation, and that's why he's banned them, just so. And we'll get into all of his words, because he did put this out on Truth Social, and not only did he threaten it, he followed through with it over the weekend.
00:02:08
Speaker 1: I should warn us. We seem to already be dripping in some sarcasm. We should probably dial it back. Okay.
00:02:14
Speaker 2: And I'm the same way.
00:02:15
Speaker 1: It's nuts.
00:02:16
Speaker 2: This is personal, and this should be personal for everybody. Yes, we're members of the media. Yes, we take what we do seriously, as should every citizen of the United States of America. And yes, we all collectively should be deeply disturbed that the president is trying to silence news outlets because he doesn't like what they're reporting. That is frightening.
00:02:41
Speaker 1: The way he explains it, I'm trying to get away with it, Robes, is that these He's only denying them access to him. You can write what you want, but I don't have to let you cover me, is his argument. Yes, that is a constitutional problem as well. That is a complete, all of this, folks, is not legal.
00:02:59
Speaker 2: Exactly.
00:02:59
Speaker 1: It's not.
00:03:00
Speaker 2: And so it is kind of awesome. That you have ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, Fox News. These are the main five networks who cover the president, and they've had a longstanding agreement that you pool the coverage, so to speak. So you take turns in charge of filming and following the president, and then you give that footage and all of that content to all the networks to disseminate.
00:03:29
Speaker 1: You have to do that because, obviously, if you've got all these TV networks with a producer... Camera guy, audio guy, obviously everybody can't fit into the Oval Office or the plane, whatever it is. So this is just done. It's understood. Network share, no big deal. So Robes, the rotation now comes to CNN. on a day that they're banned. It's their turn to provide TV camera footage of the president. Today, when he's coming to New York, has kind of a busy day, doesn't he?
00:03:59
Speaker 2: Very busy day. You know, the UN General Assembly is in session. And so yes, this is a very big deal. And I do think it's pretty cool that the Fox News Washington bureau chief chairs the pool. So He is the one who had to make the announcement.
00:04:16
Speaker 1: Yes.
00:04:17
Speaker 2: Sorry, excuse me. She is the one. Well, Brian Bouton is the one who, I guess, sent the email out to everybody from Fox News. That's why I said he, but he chairs the pool, basically. And I appreciate this. He said that there will not be pool coverage of the president's events today. And this was the quote in an email. This follows the White House's position preventing CNN from From fulfilling its assigned pool duties, there will be no replacement pool put in place.
00:04:48
Speaker 1: Boom.
00:04:49
Speaker 2: Boom.
00:04:51
Speaker 1: Robes, what do we do? He's going to Mamdani's house today, isn't he? Yep. Isn't that meeting today?
00:04:55
Speaker 2: Got a busy day. Going to Gracie Mansion to talk with the New York mayor.
00:04:59
Speaker 1: Okay. So you folks as citizens do not have a camera on your president today. Wow. There'll be some other events. There might be some local events. Folks who maybe at Gracie Mansion seeing.
00:05:15
Speaker 2: Him going in, maybe not.
00:05:15
Speaker 1: I don't know how that works.
00:05:16
Speaker 2: I don't know how that works because you have to have clearance.
00:05:19
Speaker 1: He has a White House pool.
00:05:20
Speaker 2: There's no way. I don't think that that could be switched up. And by the way, yes, we're talking about our five main networks here and this pool coverage, but that video, that content is disseminated to all the local TV stations across the country. It gets sent out to newspaper websites everywhere. So a lot of the pictures and photos you see on whatever, USA Today or the Wall Street Journal, whatever you go to to find your political news or what's going on with the president, all of those images come from that pool photographer and producer and reporter. So this doesn't just affect the five networks. This affects everybody.
00:06:08
Speaker 1: I think that's something we do not have a representative covering the president for us today. Now, Robes, there are some, and I see his supporters already saying, yeah, kick him out. All they do is not do real news.
00:06:21
Speaker 2: They don't do your bidding? That's concerning.
00:06:25
Speaker 1: But, Robes, and I think we were all open to the idea. I didn't mind. They were letting in some more independent journalists into the press briefing room. They had a thing. They were a rotating group. Like the first question always went to somebody from an alternative outlet kind of a thing. And yes, some of them were conservatives, a lot of them were, and that's fine. I don't necessarily think that's bad. Robes, when you're shuffling so many more people into the room that think like you and support you, the types of folks who are going to ask you the questions that you appreciate, the softballs, you're pushing out the CNNs of the world. Robes, you're tiptoeing up to state media. you're tiptoeing up to, yep, you all aren't here covering me, the ones I want, and now we're gonna put out exactly what we want. Robes, this is as close, with the pool, it just happened. I think this wouldn't be as big of a deal if it wasn't CNN's turn in the pool rotation.
00:07:18
Speaker 2: I love that it was.
00:07:19
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:07:20
Speaker 2: And it's just the way it turned out. And I love that the media has banded together and they have pooled together, to use a phrase, but that's exactly what's happened. And yes, you mentioned tiptoeing towards state media. Mm-hmm. This latest announcement on Friday and this decision to ban people he doesn't like they're reporting from access to him, babe, that's storming through. He stopped tiptoeing. He's charging full steam ahead towards state media. I don't even think he would deny wanting only people who report positive things about him to be given access to him.
00:07:57
Speaker 1: I would really like to do, like as a serious exercise to whoever at the White House is Like submit stories from five different networks about whatever, the exact same story. Will you all please rewrite these in a way you think is fair or eliminate the stuff you think is? I'm curious, what could someone write that could still be honest and fair that they wouldn't deem not supportive enough and you got to go? Like what is it they want people to do? Say nothing negative? Say nothing critical? What is supposed to happen? The truth of the matter is the truth of the matter. The reflecting pool sucks because of how you operated and how you moved. Okay. So that means we can't cover the White House because how am I supposed to cover that story? Just say the president said it was vandalized. Oh, well.
00:08:48
Speaker 2: That's state media.
00:08:49
Speaker 1: How were you supposed... But to satisfy them, what is fair? Like, what network do they not have a problem with? They seem to like Kristen Welker for a while, or he did.
00:08:59
Speaker 2: Until he didn't.
00:09:00
Speaker 1: Until he didn't.
00:09:01
Speaker 2: Until she reported something he didn't think was nice.
00:09:06
Speaker 1: Who does he like in the mainstream? Who does he show favorable, give interviews to? Who?
00:09:14
Speaker 2: I don't know. Because it changes daily. And I just, this is so deeply disturbing, and I actually think it needed to almost come to this point. It had to reach this point for us to now actually call him, and I do think this is the best way to do it, to now not have anyone covering anything he does and see how he likes that.
00:09:35
Speaker 1: Maybe he will. Maybe he can, he's, I don't know, got the press he wants following him around now, saying the only things or asking the only questions he wants. Maybe he likes that. Or Robes, is he going to get to a point? I mean, he's the president. He can find a camera, I guess. But Robes, this dramatically cuts down on the coverage of him. Nobody's standing out there on the tarmac asking questions. Nobody's in the Oval Office.
00:10:00
Speaker 2: Asking.
00:10:00
Speaker 1: You know, he loved doing those press gaggles.
00:10:03
Speaker 2: Oh, he loves it. He loves it. And on Air Force One, standing around, talking to the press. And yes, he's taken the opportunity to eviscerate specifically female reporters about how they look, how they're not smiling. I mean, he has... He has.
00:10:19
Speaker 2: Been horrific.
00:10:20
Speaker 1: Quiet piggy. I remember that one. Yes. Quiet piggy.
00:10:23
Speaker 2: He has been horrific to so many, specifically female reporters, and they've continued to cover him. They've continued to show up. And look, you know, I give them credit for that. That is, we might say, oh, big deal. That is not easy to continue to ask meaningful questions, to continue to to speak on behalf of the American people or at least on behalf of their viewers to ask critical questions that need to be asked and know that you're going to be possibly publicly humiliated for how you look, for your appearance, for not smiling, all of that. That is a hostile work environment created by the President of the United States. And they still show up.
00:11:09
Speaker 1: This is always hilarious. It's always some point in the middle of the podcast I go, ah. That is an aha moment I think most don't realize. Women, we work in high power industries and Robes, you have experienced things and women have to experience things in a workplace that men don't even have to cross your mind. And a lot of that does have to do with how they're treated, how they're looked at, how they're viewed and how they're dressed and how they're criticized and all this. Women go in every single day to a hostile work environment. Robes? The Oval Office? Shouldn't be. And the one person, the only person you walk in there in fear of, insulting you, putting you down, is the leader of the free world. That's awful for those women because we know women who are in that room.
00:12:01
Speaker 2: Absolutely.
00:12:02
Speaker 1: I think about Rachel Scott all the time in there. She was insulted. He was screaming at her not too terribly long ago about something.
00:12:08
Speaker 2: These are good, decent, kind, hardworking, intelligent women. And the fact that they can continue to go into that Oval Office and know that they're literally walking into a potential firing squad with the president taking direct aim, they're still willing to go in there and cover him and try to be objective. And now he still, even after insulting them and humiliating them, now he's taken away their press credentials. It really, it needs to be called out. We've always seen a slightly adversarial role between the president and the press corps, and that needs to be in place because, yes, we have to be able to be critical and to be curious and to hold people accountable and to ask the questions. And to do it in those conditions is hard enough, but now to be denied access? This is... I, I, I've had a loss for words just when I think he can't do something else. He, he finds a way to, to just anger everybody. So now he's even got competing members of the media banding together.
00:13:17
Speaker 1: He, he, uh, he brought Fox news and MS now together.
00:13:22
Speaker 2: That's a hard thing to do. I don't know anyone else who could have done it.
00:13:25
Speaker 1: Um, Again, I know we focus on Fox, but we do give all of them credit. Every time this has come up, Roe, and there have been several times over his two administrations, I think, that he tried to ban someone. When he kicked out the AP out of the Oval Office in particular.
00:13:41
Speaker 2: Because they wouldn't call it the Gulf of America. Right?
00:13:44
Speaker 1: Kicked them out over that. Now, is that fake news? Like, that is the reason he kicked them out. It is. And he's saying... I'm tired of the fake report. It's the Associated Press. So now, here we go, and they're defending it. Who is this guy, Waltz, the UN guy who was on with Dana Bash yesterday, justifying it, saying he's well within his rights, and he's not.
00:14:12
Speaker 2: No, constitutionally speaking, he is not well within his rights. And when we come back, we're going to tell you about this new joint statement from CNN, MSNOW, and Politico saying, And yes, we'll get that original True Social post, perhaps, that set this whole thing off. Welcome back, everyone, to Amy and TJ. So yes, we just got a new joint statement from CNN, MSNOW, and Politico, and this is the announcement of their official lawsuit against the White House. It reads, this morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights. Short, sweet, to the point. They're asking for an emergency injunction. They want somebody to rule on this immediately so they can get their access back.
00:15:30
Speaker 1: They need to be covered. They're journalists. Their stories, literally, they go up to the security line. Folks they've been seeing for years, same security guys. Car doesn't work. They just say, I'm sorry. This is above my pay grade. I can't let you in. Yeah. They are deactivating these people's IDs.
00:15:47
Speaker 2: And there were other members of the media actually documenting this and watching reports. Yes, long time, decades-long reporters, producers, photographers who've walked in and out with access. Because, yes, to go through the process of being credentials as a reporter way back when, when I worked in D.C., you jump through all these hoops. You go through security clearances. You get them annually renewed. But this is a big deal to have that press credential, to get into the Senate and House office buildings, to have White House access. All of this is hard-earned, documented, and recorded, and an important part of the process.
00:16:20
Speaker 1: And it's a point of, you know, it's kind of a point of pride. I know it's for them. And over the years, it becomes the workplace. But you never forget.
00:16:30
Speaker 2: No.
00:16:30
Speaker 1: You get to walk into the White House every day. It's a big deal. And to have that pass and to have that access and to have earned that. That's a big deal.
00:16:35
Speaker 2: So then to have your access denied is one thing, but these reporters and photojournalists, their badges were taken. Like, again, a humiliating thing. It's kind of like, I don't know if you've ever been let go or fired like boxes, boxes down onto floor four. You know, it's just kind of like a public humiliation of give me your pass. You're not allowed in. Bye. It is that. And that was happening all weekend long. So now we've got a lawsuit. And we also have now another true social post from the president as of this morning. And it reads here, the White House is not instituting an assault on the free press, something which I cherish. It is instituting an assault on the fake news, something that has grown like cancer in our beloved United States of America. 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. It's a threat to his ego.
00:17:46
Speaker 1: I don't know. You just say stuff. Can you back any of that up? You can just say what you want, Dave. I don't know. His people, I guess, take this seriously. I say his people, his supporters. He's got plenty of supporters who like his policy. Is anybody celebrating that statement?
00:18:05
Speaker 2: Well, it has 11,000 likes on it so far. It's been up for about... two hours now, two and a half hours. So look, there are always going to be people who it's, it's, isn't it good though, when you rally the base to have a common enemy and to make the common enemy, the media that is, uh, I guess something that might resonate with some folks, but I do think it is. And again, you pointed out Fox news, but I do think it is important. A lot of people who support the president will obviously are big Fox News channel watchers, period. And so for Fox News to take the stand alongside CNN, Politico, MSNOW, that should speak volumes, or at least I hope it will for some folks who can say, yeah, let's look and see what we're actually witnessing right now.
00:18:54
Speaker 1: I don't know if the Fox News part is a big headline. I have been seeing everywhere in this coverage that he banned this place, this place, and this place. The support that Fox is giving to CNN is a headline and does give context to the story. But I don't know if it's been talked about that much. I wonder what Fox is actually, how they're covering it today. They don't want to piss this guy off either. They really do not. And so what happens now with this idea? Robes, we have worked. You know what? Two of the three places that have been banned, we have worked at. Yes. Two of the three places. Yes. I spent time at two of them. Everybody can guess. We didn't work at Politico. But we've spent time. Robes, an assault on the fake news grown like a cancer because it's corrupt, purposeful, pervasive, and fully coordinated. Robes, we've got decades in these places. No. Not one. is there ever a discussion, a political discussion, or I was ever told to do this or to lean that way. Not once in my career. I'm almost even shocked to say that out loud. It never has happened. Sure, people have their leanings. They have their ideas and But there is not a coordinated effort in the halls of ABC or CNN to do this.
00:20:14
Speaker 2: Or even MSNBC now. It was MSNBC back in the day when we were both there, but no. And by the way, this is separate from the nighttime shows where they've got left-leaning and right-leaning folks this is about the actual news coverage. And that should be distinguished. I think some people see just the Rachel Maddows of the world and say, oh, yes, that's not what we're talking about.
00:20:40
Speaker 1: He didn't ban Rachel Maddow from the White House.
00:20:42
Speaker 2: We're talking about the journalists who actually report the news headlines during the day, not the folks who have obvious political leanings. And clearly, yes, we know each network has a leaning. But I can tell you, and you can speak directly to the fact that never once while we worked at any of those organizations were we ever told to play to a certain political party, to give good or negative coverage to any one political figure ever, ever, ever, ever. I do believe nearly everyone who is a journalist at those organizations does their best to be objective.
00:21:19
Speaker 1: You know what? I've been asked not to ask a celebrity a certain question because it might piss off their PR person and then our people won't get the next interview.
00:21:26
Speaker 2: So true.
00:21:26
Speaker 1: That's happened.
00:21:27
Speaker 2: That absolutely happens.
00:21:28
Speaker 1: 100%.
00:21:29
Speaker 2: Frequently. And it's been very upsetting to me and you both at different moments.
00:21:33
Speaker 1: Yes.
00:21:33
Speaker 2: And we'll call that out because it has happened.
00:21:36
Speaker 1: Never.
00:21:37
Speaker 2: It has never happened.
00:21:38
Speaker 1: In politics.
00:21:38
Speaker 2: And in fact, when I was doing the Hunter Biden interview, I got so much direction about making sure I was tough on him and making sure I asked the tough follow-ups so as to not even make anyone believe that we had any sort of leaning towards or being in favor of him. I would say we went the opposite. We pushed harder than we might have normally because we didn't want to give off any sort of appearance that we were giving him any sort of, cushy PR campaign of an interview. So I would say I've experienced it in the other way. But look, remember in that original post that he put out on Friday that set this all into motion, he said other fake news media outlets to follow. He threatened beyond MSNOW, beyond CNN, beyond Politico. He said there is more to come. I wonder if that will now be true given the reaction and the lawsuit against And what he's going to experience today with no media coverage.
00:22:50
Speaker 1: Or they might start putting stuff out left and right. Maybe they'll put out a video of him with Mom Donnie, edited the exact way they want it to be edited.
00:22:58
Speaker 2: That's scary.
00:22:59
Speaker 1: Maybe that is terrifying. Oh, terrifying. So we will see. But they are defending this. They're going to lose in court. They're clearly going to lose in court if they don't decide to give up ahead of time. But I can't imagine them doing so. This is going to be another loss for the president. He's kind of racking them up here lately, babe. But he is choosing to take this fight. This is major. This is Jimmy Kimmel again. This is all this is. You're not allowed to speak. These are the views. Everybody had not. And again, these are left-leaning folks. I get it, you don't like it, but they have a right to say it. And you're the one guy who is supposed to defend their right to do it more than anybody else in the country.
00:23:36
Speaker 2: Absolutely. Imagine if you had, I don't know, the leftist-leaning president you could imagine, and you banned Fox News from covering them.
00:23:43
Speaker 1: Obama said that. That's a problem. Remember that clip? Yes, yes.
00:23:45
Speaker 2: That's hilarious. He said, can you imagine what would have happened? You're right, he did say that. If I would have banned Fox News from covering me because I didn't like what they said about me? It's not possible. And you mentioned Jackie Heinrich earlier. She's the president of the White House Correspondents Association. And she seemed kind of chummy with him when they had to redo the correspondence dinner. And he said some nice things about her, and she seemed to be pleasant enough with him. She made a very bold statement saying the implications extend beyond these organizations. A standard used to exclude one news outlet because of its coverage could be applied to any outlet in the future. And that's directly what Obama was talking about.
00:24:24
Speaker 1: Beware.
00:24:24
Speaker 2: You might say, oh, hell yeah, because it's President Trump. What happens with the next president? What happens if right-leaning, more conservative, if the Wall Street Journal is kicked out, if Fox News is kicked out?
00:24:36
Speaker 1: Where I, Jackie, work currently.
00:24:38
Speaker 2: Exactly.
00:24:39
Speaker 1: Yes, Jackie is a Fox News lady. Yes. They get it, no matter what you say. And look, you know I like some folks at Fox and how they go about their business.
00:24:48
Speaker 2: We're fans of Bret Baier.
00:24:49
Speaker 1: We are fans. So Robes, I'd love to see them banding together. What is the president going to do? Robes, this is other level stuff. There is no independent press camera on the president of the United States.
00:25:02
Speaker 2: We'll see what happens next. But we know there will be a next. And with that, everyone, we always appreciate you listening to us. I'm Amy Robach alongside TJ Holmes. We'll talk soon.
