Cory Booker
Role at the time: U.S. senator from New Jersey, interviewed on NBC’s Meet the Press
Statement summary
Asked on NBC’s Meet the Press whether the ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico violates the Constitution, Sen. Cory Booker said “It clearly does.” He said he was also troubled that Trump is using the Justice Department “to persecute reporters,” pointed to investigations of reporters that he said followed an incident involving a Qatar Airways plane and were withdrawn after a federal judge said he would sanction the department, and said “this precedent has no regard for the First Amendment” and the ban “just doubles down on that.”
“It clearly does. What bothers me is not only this violation of the Constitution, but remember, in unprecedented ways he’s using his Justice Department to persecute reporters. He’s basically said, “If you break stories on me I don’t like, my Justice Department is going to investigate you.” In fact, look at what he did after the Qatar Airway, that sort of, I call it, cowardice retreat from the airplane, where he escaped in a dining car. Immediately, they started launching investigations against those reporters, so much so, that a federal judge said he was going to sanction the Justice Department, and they quickly withdrew. So this precedent has no regard for the First Amendment. He’s going after reporters, and this ban just doubles down on that.”
NBC News' transcript of Meet the Press with Kristen Welker for September 20, 2026, published at 11:44 AM EDT and updated at 12:22 PM EDT. Welker's question about the ban opens her interview with Booker, which follows her interview with Sen. John Barrasso.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
On Trump’s decision to exclude CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House access because of their coverage, Booker answers “It clearly does” to whether the ban violates the Constitution and says the ban “just doubles down” on Trump going after reporters. That is an express denunciation of the exclusion itself. The closest competing label is “Challenged the characterization”, which loses because he criticizes the action rather than only disputing how it is described.