The First Amendment is the cornerstone of the republic and it is absolute in what it protects. Journalists may report what they want. They may be wrong, unfair, and even invent false narratives and then sell it as news. At the same time, the public may choose to believe or ignore these reports. There is nothing in the First Amendment, however, that requires the president of the United States invite the people with an axe to grind into the room where he works.

President Donald Trump’s recent decision to bar CNN, MS Now, and Politico from the White House has been spun up as the radical left’s latest outrage or “constitutional crisis” du jour. Yet, the banned outlets still maintain every right to publish, stand on a sidewalk, file FOIA requests, interview sources, and tell their audience whatever story they prefer. Nothing about their traditional journalist role that is protected by the First Amendment has changed.