Iowa Politics with Jeff Stein -- Mon. Sep. 21, 2026

Credentials revoked.

I'm Jeff Stein with today's Iowa Politics Report.

No, President Trump probably should not have revoked the White House media credentials for CNN, MS Now, and Politico.

But not for the reasons you may think.

He probably should not have done it because it's more likely to fire up his opposition than to fire up his base.

Making liberals more angry cannot help Republicans on the ballot in November.

And while his supporters will cheer the effort, I'm not sure that translates to GOP votes.

I am and have always been a strong First Amendment advocate.

Government should not pick and choose what become official state news media outlets.

But that's not really what's happening here.

And Trump's not the first one to come up with the idea.

First and foremost, not everyone with a notepad or a microphone has a right to access within the White House.

I cannot just simply start showing up at the gate and demanding to be let in just because I work in radio.

You apply for credentials which are either granted or rejected.

Since not every news organization that wants access can get it, each White House makes determinations about who gets the media passes.

This administration has allowed entities such as Real America's Voice and One America News as well as a host of online only outlets to have seats at news briefings.

That was never done in the past.

And before Trump haters talk about no kings and other silly labels, remember it was President Barack Obama in 2009 who tried to have Fox News reporters banned from interviews, saying from the podium that Fox was not really a news organization.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was asked about it at the time and said, We render an opinion based on some of their coverage and the fairness of that coverage, unquote.

And don't forget that in 2023, President Joe Biden had the New York Post barred from an otherwise public event because he did not like their reporting on his son Hunter's infamous laptop.

So to be clear for nearly 20 years, each president, Republican and Democrat alike, has tried to limit media access to the White House in punishment for reporting they didn't like.

It's not new, although some of the reporting on it would like you to believe that.

But it's also not a good look, and may cause the GOP and the administration more harm than good given the relatively small audiences

those outlets serve.

And that's the Iowa Politics Report for Monday, September 21 on Twitter, Instagram, Gitter, Threads and Truth Social and Iowa Politics.

I'm Jeff Stein on News Talk 1540, KXEL.