Fox News analyst Guy Benson calls the media ban "a bad idea & bad precedent" that "achieves nothing"
Fox News political analyst and host of The Guy Benson Show, in a post on his own X account
“The WH media ban, even if you hate the targeted outlets, is a bad idea & bad precedent. It’s the sort of thing he does when he doesn’t feel like things are going well politically. Beyond his hardcore loyalist base, it achieves nothing and is exhausting.”
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Post read verbatim through the fxtwitter API (created 22:05:28 UTC on September 18, 2026).
Reporting
About this source
Mediaite roundup of Fox News figures' reactions on X, published the evening of September 18, 2026 (7:21 PM EDT) and read in full; it reproduces the posts by Turley, Hume, Fleischer, Benson and Roberts.
Before the quotation
Benson posted at 6:05 PM EDT on September 18, about three hours after Trump's announcement.
After the quotation
Fox News analyst Brit Hume, contributor Ari Fleischer and anchor John Roberts also commented on X the same evening, according to Mediaite's roundup.
How this statement is classified
Case context: Should President Trump bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House over their coverage?
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case's fixed reference point is President Trump's announcement on September 18, 2026 that CNN, MS NOW and Politico are banned from the White House because of their coverage, as reaffirmed in the Oval Office that afternoon. Benson criticizes the exclusion as a bad idea and bad precedent, even as he grants that some dislike the outlets. The closest competing label is minimizes, because he says it "achieves nothing". That loses because he opens by calling the act a bad idea and bad precedent, which is criticism of the conduct itself rather than downplaying it.
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Should President Trump bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House over their coverage?
Explore the case context, sources and public responses.
More from this case
Read the full caseMS NOW
“MS NOW intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalism in our democracy.”Read statement
The White House
“The White House declined to comment further Saturday, referring NBC News to Trump’s previous comments.”Read statement
Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
“When the White House opens its doors to the press, it must comply with the First Amendment. The president is as free as any other person to criticize media coverage. But he can’t ban outlets from the White House just because he doesn’t like their reporting or commentary.”Read statement