SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
President Trump has banned three news organizations from the White House - CNN, MS NOW and Politico. In a post online, he declared, other fake news media outlets to follow. That's where we'll begin this hour of the program with NPR's Ron Elving. Ron, thanks so much for being with us.
RON ELVING, BYLINE: Good to be with you, Scott.
SIMON: And, Ron, this summary ban - this is America. Could the president do that?
ELVING: We find ourselves asking that question a lot these days. I'm not a constitutional law scholar, but I know how to consult people who are, and there's broad agreement that the president cannot do this in the manner he wishes. Once he opens the door to the media, he cannot close it partially to exclude those whose reporting may displease him.
It's been to court, been ruled a violation of the First Amendment guarantee. And the president of the White House Correspondent Association, Jacqui Heinrich, noted yesterday that the constitutional protection does not depend, quote, "on whether the president likes a news organization's coverage, agrees with its reporting or approves the questions its journalists ask."
Now, Heinrich is, herself, a senior White House correspondent for Fox News. And she also said, quote, "this is about more than the rights of journalists. It is about the right of the American people to receive a full and independent account of the activities, policies and decisions of whoever occupies the nation's highest office."
Now, President Trump tried to ban one CNN reporter years ago. He tried to ban the Associated Press early in his second term. The courts backed the media both times, although the AP ruling is still being appealed. But Trump may have his reasons to blow off steam this way, perhaps thinking it will distract from news that's been making him unhappy this week.
SIMON: Including, perhaps, no agreement with Iran that would end the war. The U.S. Congress, including seven Republicans, voted to end President Trump's powers to prosecute it. What do you see developing here?
ELVING: Congress is in a struggle toward fulfilling its constitutional duties regarding war making. We are right up against the basic Constitution here again. In this case, the power to declare war belongs exclusively to Congress, which has, of course, devised its own ways to use the military without such a declaration. One is a formal AUMF. That's an Authorization for Use of Military Force. We all learned that acronym after 9/11, when U.S. forces went into Afghanistan and then Iraq. Here we have Congress trying to rein in the president using the few tools it has.
SIMON: Also, the Supreme Court blocked a Trump administration plan to restrict mail-in voting, and the Federal Reserve raised interest rates. These are two more rebukes at the president.
ELVING: Hard to miss that reading in both cases, and surely, Trump himself took both of them that way. He went on Truth Social and blasted the rate increase in personal terms and also to denounce his own appointees to the Supreme Court - all three, by the way - for going against him on the mail-ins.
SIMON: And AI is top of the mind for many voters and many in Congress. Most want some kind of restrictions. President Trump says all America needs is him.
ELVING: Well, yes, all we need is Trump and whatever it may take to stay ahead of China in this regard. AI development is racing ahead there, too. But lots of Republican candidates this fall are backing away, creating some distance with the president, noting the outcry against the massive data centers in their home districts and states and also noting the impression of danger that keeps growing.
SIMON: Kennedy Center has been summarily closed because president says his name should be on it. What does this say? And could he really demolish it?
ELVING: How this whole issue, like the Lincoln Reflecting Pool, shows just how far Trump will go to prevail, defying the courts, defying reality. Is he tempted to bring in the bulldozers before the name issue is resolved, just to get it done before he might be stopped? Maybe we can see an answer to that question in that huge hole in the ground where the East Wing of the White House once stood.
SIMON: NPR senior contributor Ron Elving. Thanks so much.
ELVING: Thank you, Scott. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
