On Tuesday’s Today, co-host Craig Melvin used the end of an interview with Secretary of State Marco Rubio to press him strongly on the White House banning access to reporters with CNN, MS NOW, and Politico.
Melvin asked: “As you know, the White House has banned three networks from coverage there. Among those, CNN. You have a pool of reporters that travel with you. Any plans to ban any of the reporters who travel with you, as a result?”
Rubio didn’t answer that directly: “Yeah, look, the White House feels very strongly and the president feels very strongly that the coverage he gets, and I can't blame him – Look, I gotta be honest with you and maybe you won't like to hear this, but I watch a lot of American news coverage, and it sounds in some cases like they're rooting for Iran. It sounds like they highlight anything Iran says in all their public statements as true and the downplay everything American officials say as wrong. I don't think that is what's behind this, but there is a trend line.”
That’s factual. NBC, as well as the other networks, have often simply repeated statements from the Iranian dictatorship like they’re a press release service, while they express skepticism about everything the Trump administration says. Melvin pressed ahead:
On "Today," co-host Craig Melvin pressed Sec of State Marco Rubio on the current access ban on CNN/MS NOW & Politico at the White House. Rubio shot back:
"I watch a lot of American news coverage, and it sounds in some cases like they're rooting for Iran. It sounds like they… pic.twitter.com/pWLvagRshU— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) September 22, 2026
MELVIN: But Mr. Secretary, with all due respect, should media outlets be banned because the president doesn't like their coverage? Should you be able to ban --
RUBIO: They're not banned –
MELVIN: They are banned! They're banned from the White House.
RUBIO: No, they're not. We’re not closing CNN. Well, that's different. What they want is access to the work space the president uses --
MELVIN: Does it sit right with you, though?
RUBIO: The White House feels very strongly -- the president feels very strongly, that why should I have people working in my building and my office that he believes are not honestly covering my administration? That’s how he feels. We're not closing CNN. There aren’t a bunch of police officers or soldiers kicking down the doors of MSNBC — or MS NOW, whatever it’s called — and arresting people and unplugging it from the grid. They’re just not allowed to work from the work space at the White House.
Melvin turned it back to Rubio’s press policy at the State Department. Rubio responded: “I'll do a press conference today and I imagine there'll be reporters there or tomorrow, and there'll be reporters there from every outlet. I don't ask them who they're with and so forth.” He then restated that the president isn’t saying they can’t cover the president, just that they don’t have a right to be “embedded” in the building.
Journalists like Melvin aren't willing to ask themselves whether their coverage is overly negative -- especially in comparison to how negative NBC and MSNBC were about President Biden, or Obama. Rubio could have cited how Brian Williams repeatedly fawned all over Obama.
