Late-night hosts react to Trump’s White House media ban

Latenight comedians Jon Stewart, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon responded to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House access. They used their monologues to criticize the move as an attack on press freedom and the First Amendment. The article says the White House defended the ban by calling access a privilege rather than a right. It also notes that the media pool later declined to cover Trump’s helicopter pad event, limiting the reporting to White House video without onsite press microphones. The comedians turned the dispute into jokes about Trump’s complaints about negative coverage, while also pointing to the broader issue of government pressure on the press. The story highlights how the ban became a new flashpoint in the ongoing conflict between Trump and latenight hosts.