Fox News's John Roberts predicts the exclusion will last "about a half a heartbeat", as Obama's 2009 attempt did
John RobertsCo-anchor of Fox News Channel's America Reports, in a post on his own X account
In an X post that quote-posts a post by White House Correspondents' Association president Jacqui Heinrich reproducing the association's statement, Fox News co-anchor John Roberts wrote that the Obama administration tried to exclude Fox from certain White House access in 2009, that it "lasted about a half a heartbeat", and that he expects this exclusion will too.
“Obama tried to exclude Fox from certain White House access back in 2009. Lasted about a half a heartbeat. I expect this one will too.”
Original post
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Should President Trump bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House over their coverage?
On Friday, September 18, 2026, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that, "effective immediately, I am banning" CNN, MS NOW and Politico "from the White House as a result of their constant 'reporting' FAKE NEWS!" About an hour later, in the Oval Office, he said no particular story prompted the decision, that he does not want the outlets "in my office," and that "somebody has a right to keep them away" if outlets write false stories. The three outlets and press-freedom groups oppose the exclusion, citing constitutional protection for the press, and the White House Correspondents' Association said it "stands in defense of our colleagues at CNN, MSNOW, and POLITICO." On Saturday, September 19, MS NOW, CNN and Politico said their White House reporters were refused entry and had press passes confiscated; the White House referred questions to Trump's earlier remarks. The dispute is over whether President Trump should exclude named news organizations from White House access over what they report.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Posted 22:37:25 UTC on September 18, 2026. The post is a quote-post: the first three sentences are Roberts's own and the remaining text is the quoted post by Jacqui Heinrich (https://x.com/JacquiHeinrich/status/2101076038176342376) reproducing the WHCA statement.
Reporting
About this source
Mediaite roundup of Fox News figures' reactions on X, published the evening of September 18, 2026 (7:21 PM EDT); it reproduces the posts by Turley, Hume, Fleischer, Benson and Roberts.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Roberts posted at 6:37 PM EDT on September 18. The post quote-posts an X post by Jacqui Heinrich, president of the White House Correspondents' Association, reproducing the association's statement.
After the quotation
Mediaite's roundup of Fox News figures' reactions that evening also carried posts by Fox News analyst Guy Benson, chief political analyst Brit Hume and contributors Jonathan Turley and Ari Fleischer criticizing the exclusion.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Roberts predicts the exclusion will be short-lived, drawing on the 2009 Obama-Fox episode, which downplays its durability and significance without endorsing or denouncing it. The closest competing label is condemns, because he shares a statement criticizing the exclusion. That loses because the words that are Roberts's own express no criticism of the act; the criticism is the quoted WHCA text.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- CNN, MS NOW, Politico
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- Fox News's John Roberts predicts the exclusion will last "about a half a heartbeat", as Obama's 2009 attempt did
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The Dispute Index. "Fox News's John Roberts predicts the exclusion will last "about a half a heartbeat", as Obama's 2009 attempt did". First published: 2026-09-19. Last updated: 2026-09-22. https://disputeindex.com/events/1139-in-an-x-post-that-quote-posts-a