Christopher Rufo
Role at the time: Senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a guest panelist on Overtime with Bill Maher
Statement summary
Asked on Overtime with Bill Maher what the panel thought of Trump banning CNN, Politico and MS NOW from the White House, Christopher Rufo said the ban is a mistake in the same way it was a mistake for Robert Kraft to ban Macklemore, because it gives opponents “an easy win”: they can say they stand for free speech and good journalism. He called it “a mistake strategically” and “on the substance,” said the president’s best moments are “oftentimes in combat with people from the left-wing media,” and said that “hunkering down, remaining in the echo chamber, it’s a mistake on all fronts.”
“This is a mistake in the same way it was a mistake for Robert Kraft to ban Macklemore. You’re giving your opponents an easy win. They can say, we stand for free speech, good journalism.” … “I think it’s a mistake strategically, but it’s also a mistake on the substance. The president’s best moments are oftentimes in combat with people from the left-wing media. And so, as conservatives, we don’t have the benefit of having the mainstream media on our side. We have to be smart in how we do combat with the left-wing media if we want to have our message break through. And so, hunkering down, remaining in the echo chamber, it’s a mistake on all fronts.”
Official Real Time with Bill Maher upload of Overtime, the post-show panel conversation that follows the September 18, 2026 episode, published on the show’s YouTube channel at 11:00 p.m. EDT on September 18, 2026 (03:00 UTC on September 19). The passage is Christopher Rufo’s answer to a question about Trump’s announced exclusion of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House; Jessica Tarlov’s reply begins at 01:51. An on-screen caption identifies Christopher Rufo (“Sr. Fellow, The Manhattan Institute”) while he speaks, and he is on camera throughout the passage.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
Rufo, speaking as a conservative, calls the exclusion “a mistake strategically” and “on the substance,” says it hands opponents “an easy win,” and concludes that “hunkering down, remaining in the echo chamber, it’s a mistake on all fronts.” That criticizes the exclusion itself. The closest competing label is “Mixed or conditional”, because part of his objection is strategic and he says the president’s best moments often come in combat with left-wing media; it loses because he also calls the ban a mistake “on the substance” and does not defend it in this exchange.