President Donald Trump’s decision to bar some of his most frequent targets in the so-called “lamestream media” from the White House sparked fierce reactions across the political and news worlds last week.
By Thursday, the noise had become difficult to cut through. Left-leaning newsrooms were celebrating after a federal judge ordered the White House to temporarily restore press access for journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico, who had been excluded from the premises.
Now that the initial uproar has faded, however, both the public and the news industry should confront an uncomfortable possibility: Once again, Trump may have succeeded in redirecting everyone’s attention.
Since the rise of MAGA, Trump has repeatedly turned political distractions into a highly effective strategy. Reporters rush to investigate the latest controversy, often spending valuable time on temporary scandals while the broader story moves elsewhere.
Trump did not create the tactic, but he has arguably refined it more than any modern political figure.
The expression “wag the dog” entered the political mainstream through the 1997 film of the same name. The movie depicted a Washington strategist inventing a war in Albania to divert attention from a presidential sex scandal. Later, when President Bill Clinton faced accusations that military action had been ordered to shift focus away from the Monica Lewinsky scandal, the phrase became firmly embedded in American political language.
I previously worked as an anchor at Fox News and continue to have friends and sources at the network’s Manhattan headquarters. They told me there was some private amusement when Trump abruptly announced on Friday that certain outlets were being barred for allegedly publishing “fiction and lies.”
Melissa Francis (left) previously worked as a Fox News anchor and maintains relationships with friends and sources at the network’s Manhattan headquarters
President Donald Trump’s escalating conflict with the news media drew strong reactions from across the political spectrum
At least one Fox News veteran I contacted immediately understood the difficult position the network had been placed in.
No news organization—not even Fox News—can reasonably support a president targeting fellow journalists or restricting their access to official events.
That veteran also understands how quickly a news outlet can find itself in the crosshairs once such a precedent is accepted.
There was a similar confrontation in October 2009, when President Barack Obama’s Treasury Department attempted to leave Fox News out of interviews with Kenneth Feinberg, the official overseeing the distribution of relief funds after the 2008 financial crisis.
ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN, which also covered the White House, declined to participate unless Fox was invited. Treasury officials reversed course within hours, allowing Fox to join the interviews.
That history helps explain why Fox News, when CNN, MS NOW and Politico were singled out, had little choice but to stand with the other outlets and withdraw from coverage of Trump’s event.
Fox News contributor Ari Fleischer quickly addressed the dispute on social media. “I agree with POTUS that several media outlets covering the WH are biased and unfair… Banning them from the WH is not the solution… Challenge liberal reporters. Argue and defeat them. Don’t ban them. Or one day they’ll ban us,” he wrote.
During Bill Clinton’s presidency, critics accused him of ordering US military strikes to divert attention from the intensifying Monica Lewinsky scandal
Author Melissa Francis
Fox News anchor Jacqui Heinrich, who serves as president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, also defended press freedom. “The Constitution protects the freedom of the press from government interference,” she wrote.
Many Fox News viewers, however, showed little interest in the network’s temporary show of solidarity. Still angry over the cancellation of Trump ally Maria Bartiromo’s program, some saw an apparent contradiction. “Fox News pulled out of the White House Press Pool in solidarity with CNN, MSNOW and Politico which were banned from the White House. This is the same Fox News who just fired Maria Bartiromo for trying to report the news,” one viewer posted on X.
But few seem to notice the brilliance of Trump’s ‘briar patch moment,’ tricking the media into thinking they had the upper hand when they were just playing into his.
United, the media denied Trump all coverage – refusing to cover his arrivals and departures – at the exact moment he didn’t want their questions anyway.
What was the biggest news story this week?
A United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York City during which Trump defended waging of an unpopular war against Iran, even as his party faces down devastation in the midterms, less than 40 days away.
Instead of reporters pummeling Trump on the things Americans actually care about – namely soaring prices at the pump – the media willingly kept their distance, voluntarily giving him the space he desperately needs.
Fox News viewers, of course, couldn’t care less and almost choked on this temporary solidarity. Still chafing from the cancelation of Trump ally Maria Bartiromo’s show, they saw a pattern (Pictured: Bartiromo interviewing Trump on April 14)
And if you need receipts, just look at how the administration used the opportunity to push its own news platform (crossing their fingers that at least some Americans will turn off cable news forever).
‘Get real-time updates and live events streamed DIRECTLY to your phone. No noise. Just the news that matters most – straight from the Trump Administration,’ the White House posted on X.
Of course, if you are really cynical, you might be tempted to believe that it’s not just Trump playing this game. He wasn’t the only winner.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico all got the opportunity to shout their righteous indignation about an assault on freedom of the press.
The only loser seems to be Fox News, which was forced into the awkward position of defending the very networks it often criticizes as bogus, making the channel look a bit weak.
Somewhere, Maria Bartiromo is laughing.
