How can this not be seen by all Americans as concerning is beyond me....
This goes way beyond "usual" American politics....and the rhetoric supporting this decision is just as concerning..
The question to me is...if this a precedent and will be used and more importantly PERMITTED by future Presidents...
What happens when a far left Liberal becomes president and enacts his or her own rules and opinions, on which news agency is permitted to enter the White House to cover news briefings....
Thought control, limiting opinions, and eliminating uncomfortable questions by the press seems "Un" American to me.
Is this now how this country's conducts it's business?
Here's the thing to me.
The corrupt media was here. The media's been corrupt since Vietnam and overwhelmingly Liberal since that time. Slowly, over the years, their bias and their attacks have escalated as well. More subtle in the 70s, escalating to now, an unabashedly, unashamed, full-on onslaught of anyone, any thing, or any Administration that shares an opinion other than their own (see wanting to jail people who don't believe in Climate Change). They are blatantly attacking Conservatives, our beliefs, and Trump with little to no care about integrity or the notion of Democracy. They don't care. They are fine with who they are. Proud of it. They are "out" of the closet. Instead of being humiliated by being exposed as frauds, instead of working to change, they are wearing it like shields of honor. They now consider themselves social warriors. The notion of bi-partisan reporting I fear is gone forever. Journalists will graduate from college and have to pick a side to go to war for - Liberal or Conservative - and commit to destroying the other side during their careers. That's where we are.
So given all of this, this Administration has two choices - The W. Bush route (take it lying down, try to ignore it) or the Trump route (fight back). Conservatives have been rolling over and taking this bullshit for 30+ years. Because there have never been any repercussions, journalists have pushed it further and further and further. Like the bully at lunch, who will continue to instill more fear, cause more violence, until someone finally stands up to them.
There's no way to use the courts, that I know of, to force the media to be fair. Reports aren't working - poll after poll show that the majority of Americans don't trust the media. CNN, NY Times, etc - they don't care. They double down. WikiLeaks exposed their corruption, they triple down. Project Veritas exposes their corruption, they quadruple down. Nothing works.
Except punching the bully in the mouth.
That's what Trump's doing.
I see your point, I too don't like the direction this is going, but it's gotten to the point that this is the only way. They've been picking fights for 30 years, collaboratively. No one would take their challenge. Now they have a fight.