Todd Blanche
Role at the time: Attorney General of the United States, interviewed on ABC's This Week
Statement summary
Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the White House's removal of CNN from the television pool covering Trump's trip to Knoxville, Tennessee, saying Trump has every right to decide who flies with him and that being in the White House is a privilege, not a right. He said deciding which reporters travel with the president is routine, and argued inaccurate reporting could affect national security by shaping how foreign governments and adversaries perceive the administration. Asked about the separate court ruling ordering CNN, MS NOW and Politico's broader access restored, Blanche said the order was temporary and the litigation was ongoing.
“The president has every right to decide who gets to fly on his plane, and it is national security, especially on Air Force One, and especially at the White House. Being in the White House is a privilege; it's not a right.”
Report on Attorney General Todd Blanche's Sept. 27 interview with ABC News' Martha Raddatz on "This Week," defending the White House's removal of CNN from the television pool covering Trump's Sept. 26 trip to Knoxville, Tennessee. It quotes Blanche at length, including his statement that access to the White House is a privilege, not a right, and his response to the judge's ruling in the separate lawsuit over the broader exclusion of CNN, MS NOW and Politico.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
Relative to Trump's decision to exclude CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House access because of their coverage, Blanche defends the related decision to drop CNN from the Air Force One pool, calling access a privilege and citing national security. That defends continuing to restrict access, so we labeled it Defended or excused.