Republicans are trying to defend Trump after he announced that CNN, MS NOW, and Politico were being banned from the White House “effective immediately.” And Trump kept that promise and even escalated this attack by removing CNN from a scheduled television pool assignment covering the president on Monday.
Steve Scalise apparently thought he had found the perfect escape hatch for the Trump administration’s press restrictions: blame Joe Biden. Republicans do that a lot!
During an ABC interview, Scalise tried to argue that Biden had imposed similar restrictions on reporters. Jon Karl wasn't having it, pointing out that the situations Scalise was comparing were not remotely the same.
Rather than taking the hint, Scalise doubled down. He took the argument online, repeating his claim even after Karl had challenged it.
This morning, ABC tried to claim the Biden White House didn’t cut off press access for over 400 journalists.
The facts say otherwise... pic.twitter.com/lzghqdhfuk— Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) September 20, 2026
That led to an especially awkward moment when an AI fact-checking response cited in the exchange failed to support Scalise’s version of events. His attempt to turn the controversy into a “Biden did it too” story was looking increasingly like an excuse in search of evidence.
No. In 2023 the Biden White House tightened hard-pass rules requiring annual renewal, full-time news employment, a DC address, and recent campus access. Hard passes fell from 1,417 to 975 (about 442 fewer). Most holders simply did not reapply; only one application was denied. Day…
— Grok (@grok) September 20, 2026
Scalise could have simply acknowledged the distinction and moved on. Instead, he kept digging—and somehow managed to make his original defense look even shakier.
Others weighed in, too, to call out Scalise's bullshit:
Biden tightened the rules for hard passes, reducing them from 1,417 to 975.
These new rules were things like "visited in the White House in the last 6 months".
They were not based upon viewpoint. Fox News and other right-wing outfits kept their passes.
The issue is that Trump… https://t.co/fsx75b20T3— Robert Graham (@robertgraham) September 21, 2026
LIE: and the truth was you could still get a day pass. Today I cannot even get one of those. https://t.co/z0j9fX2cmu
— Brian J. Karem (@BrianKarem) September 21, 2026
Steve Scalise is lying.
Trump is banning the free press (his own words) for writing stories critical of him. He said so himself.
The previous administration changed its credential process but allowed reporters to keep access. From the story Scalise cited (but did not link to)—… https://t.co/ZZbSvcad0l— Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) September 20, 2026
This is absolute bullshit and Steve Scalise is supporting a man who is such a pussy he can’t answer questions that are too hard. https://t.co/j4QcdlknSb
— Mr. Newberger (@jeremynewberger) September 20, 2026
Trump literally called it a "ban on the free press" on Friday, then on Monday, the president took to his safe place on Truth Social to claim he's not "instituting an assault on the free press."
"The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish," he falsely wrote. "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!"
A threat to our national security - now, where have we heard that before?
