'What he's doing is positively un-American': Late-night hosts react to Trump media ban
The comedians of late-night television have a vested interest in protecting the First Amendment. So when U.S. President Donald Trump announced he was banning news outlets CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House last Friday, they came out swinging.
Comedians try to find humour in Trump's decision to bar CNN, Politico, MS NOW from White House
Helen Surgenor · CBC News
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Jon Stewart, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel and even — to some extent — the famously "not very political" Jimmy Fallon have built their careers making fun of the U.S. president.
So when Donald Trump announced he was banning news outlets CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House last Friday, the late-night television hosts came out swinging in defence of the First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech and the press.
Were they outraged? Definitely. Were they funny? You be judge.
"The White House press pool is more of a mess than the reflecting pool right now," said Jimmy Kimmel, whose jokes have landed him in trouble with the Trump administration before.
"What he's doing is positively un-American," he said on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live!
"The five networks, including Fox, joined forces to put out a statement saying the public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government.... Do you realize how far south somebody has to go for Fox News to defend CNN?" he added.
Helipad event offers fodder for jokes
Both Kimmel and NBC host Seth Meyers pointed out how Trump's media ban appeared to backfire when the White House press pool, which usually has eyes on the president at all official events, refused to cover his opening of a new helicopter landing pad.
There were visuals of the ribbon cutting from the White House's own video stream, but there was no microphone there to pick up what the president was saying. All that could be heard was the whirring of the helicopter blades.
"The best is, that sound is always the substance of what Trump is saying," said Meyers.
Yesterday, the Trump administration released a statement reiterating its position that, "White House access is a privilege — not a right" and rejecting claims the media ban undermined reporters' First Amendment rights.
That argument was put to Trump directly by some of the journalists remaining in the White House.
Acting like a diva
Meyers played a clip of Trump's response, saying the president "sounds like an aging Hollywood starlet chewing out a director for cutting her line."
Jimmy Fallon compared him to the host of The Traitors. "He even dressed like Alan Cumming to tell them, 'You're banished from my castle.'"
He also suggested the First Lady wished she, too, would be banished to get away from her husband. "In a related story, Melania just applied to be a reporter for CNN, MSN NOW and Politico," joked Fallon.
On The Daily Show, Jon Stewart focused on Trump's reason for the media ban: his disappointment in the outlets' negative news stories.
Outrage and incredulity
"Have you tried president-ing better?" asked Stewart. "I mean give the press something to work with. Oh, here's a positive story: I never thought my car could take $140 worth of gas in such a small tank!"
Stewart toggled between outrage and incredulity as he replayed footage of Trump justifying his media ban.
"Not for nothing, have we ever had a president just flat out in the Oval Office come out against the Constitution?"
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Helen Surgenor is a producer for CBC News based in Toronto, currently working for the entertainment unit. She spent years waking up before dawn to make the daily news podcast World Report. She has reported in Alberta, Iqaluit and Barbados. You can reach her at helen.surgenor@cbc.ca.
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