The White House is not a private club.

President Trump has barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House for reporting what he calls, Fake News.

Journalists arrived on Saturday for work to find their passes disabled or confiscated. Other outlets may be next.

Politicians dislike unfavorable coverage. So do actors, restaurant owners and anyone who discovers that an unflattering photograph from 2013 is still circulating on Facebook.

The truth is the White House is not a restaurant where the owner can refuse a table to the critic who disliked the risotto. It belongs to the American people, including those who voted for Trump and those who did not.

News organizations make mistakes. They can be biased, self-important and exhausting. I have watched television panels where six experts talked simultaneously and everyone emerged less informed.

Still, criticizing the press is different from controlling it.

A president may challenge a story, demand a correction or call a reporter unfair. He should not decide that only journalists who please him may enter the building where public business is conducted. Once access depends on approval, journalism becomes permission.

This is not about liking CNN. You may shout at it, roll your eyes at MS NOW and unsubscribe from Politico.

The principle should never waver…government access cannot be a reward for loyalty.

Reporters enter the White House to ask about wars, prices, immigration, healthcare, taxes and how our money is being spent, not to admire the drapes, the golden glow of the Oval Office or tell the President he is having a good hair day.🤣

Today, CNN is excluded. In future administrations, another president could bar Fox News, a conservative newspaper or any reporter who asks one inconvenient question too many.

Political weapons have an amusing habit of changing hands.

Democracy is supposed to be noisy. A room containing only friendly reporters may be quieter, but it is not a press briefing.

It is a fan club with security clearance.

The First Amendment was not written to protect flattering coverage.

The White House is the People’s House. The press should be allowed inside even when the President would rather not hear the questions, especially one who only enjoys the sound of his own voice.