Newt Gingrich reportedly floated banning CNN from press briefings

Newt Gingrich.
(Image credit: T.J. Kirkpatrick/Getty Images)

Things have never been friendly, exactly, between the Trump administration and the press, but tensions have heated up considerably in recent weeks as the White House has considered taking historically strict measures and the media has lashed back. Most recently, Trump has floated major changes to the way the media is received at the White House, including "limiting briefings that he has described as a 'spectacle' to once a week and asking reporters to submit written questions," The New York Times reports.

Trump's allies are urging dramatic change, too:

Some of Mr. Trump's outside advisers, including the Fox News host Sean Hannity, have urged him to curtail the freewheeling — and often embarrassing — barrage of questions. Mr. Trump has been particularly irked by CNN, and other allies such as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich have suggested banning the cable network. [The New York Times]

Others believe such extreme plans won't put an end to the problems the White House is having with the media. "You can't be a credible press secretary when your boss makes you tell preposterous lies," explained Tim Miller, who served as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's (R) communications director during the 2016 campaign. "You can't be a credible press secretary when you don't know what your boss thinks on key issues because he changes his mind depending on the last person he talked to."

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.