Marco Rubio Defends Trump’s Press Ban in Fiery Debate — Insists It’s Not a ‘Ban’

Secretary of State Marco Rubio went to bat for President Donald Trump and his ban on MS NOW, CNN, and Politico during a fairly feisty interview on NBC Today, saying he “can’t blame” Trump for the move because it often sounds like mainstream reporters are “rooting for Iran.”

But he insisted during an animated back-and-forth with co-host Craig Melvin that “ban” wasn’t the appropriate word for Trump’s decision.

“With all due respect, should media outlets be banned because the president doesn’t like their coverage?” Melvin asked him on Tuesday morning.

“Well, they’re not banned—” Rubio said, before Melvin jumped back in.

“They are banned! They’re banned from the White House,” the anchor shot back, seemingly baffled by the answer.

“No they’re not. No, we’re not closing CNN — well that’s different,” Rubio said as the two men started speaking over each other for a moment. “What they want is access to the workspace the president uses.”

Melvin then asked, “Does it sit right with you, though?”

Rubio responded:

The president feels very strongly that ‘Why should I have people working in my building and my office that I believe are not honestly covering my administration.’ That’s how he feels.

We’re not closing CNN. There aren’t a bunch of police officers or soldiers kicking down the doors of MSNBC — or MS NOW, whatever it’s called — and arresting people and unplugging it from the grid. They’re just not allowed to work from the White House.

Trump yanked White House access from the three outlets last Friday, and his administration doubled down on Monday by pulling CNN off its scheduled TV pool assignment.

Trump defended the ban in a Truth Social post, saying the free press is “something which I cherish” — but he viewed the outlets as nothing more than “FAKE NEWS” peddlers.

“It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “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! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

Soon after, the three outlets banded together and sued the White House over the ban. The outlets claimed the ban “brazenly discriminates based on editorial viewpoint” and has already caused “irreparable harm” to CNN, MS NOW, and Politico.

Rubio told Melvin one reason he has sided with Trump on the matter is because he has been disgusted with how the press has covered the Iran war.

“I watch a lot of American news coverage, and it sounds, in some cases for example, like they’re rooting for Iran,” Rubio said. “It sounds like they highlight anything Iran says in their public statements as true, and they downplay everything American officials say as wrong.”

He then closed the interview by claiming the three outlets don’t have a First Amendment right to cover Trump from the White House.

“What [Trump] is arguing is, ‘What right do they have to be embedded in this building?’ They can cover the White House, they just can’t have a desk there,” Rubio said.

Watch above.

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