Politics and views in the United States

VP Vance defends media outlets being banned from the White House, new polls suggest people like press freedom but want limits on media access and Missouri congressional maps are headed back to the Supreme Court.

Transcript

Welcome to 2026 Talks, where we're following our democracy in historic times.

He's not banning media outlets.

What he's doing is saying, we're not going to give you special access to the White House if you engage in what is effectively propaganda.

Vice President J.D. Vance supports President Donald Trump's ban of CNN, MSNOW, and Politico from the White House.

He calls their coverage, quote, left-wing propaganda.

One media center survey found more than 90% of ABC, NBC, and CBS stories from the first 100 days of Trump's second term were overwhelmingly negative.

The White House's own media bias tracker also accuses Fox News of having an anti-Trump bias.

The three barred outlets are suing on First Amendment grounds and other TV networks have suspended joint presidential pool coverage in protest.

Former President Barack Obama wonders what would have happened if he tried to ban news organizations and says even the attempt suggests democracy has eroded.

If you have a certain cohort, let's call it 30 to 35 percent of the country right now, which thinks that's OK.

Well, what that means is we have not developed the kind of understanding of what democracy requires.

And we've got to shore that back up.

As the midterms approach, PNS is highlighting important polls.

A new Pew Research survey finds most Americans say press freedom is extremely important for the nation's well-being, a view shared by three quarters in past polls.

Yet the findings also show most Americans are fine with some type of government restriction on media.

Indiana University's Kathleen Johnston says people may not realize restricting national outlets could trickle down to local newsrooms, for which they often have great affection.

Today it's CNN, MS Now, and Politico.

Tomorrow it could be them.

It could be their local television.

It's just a slippery slope.

I don't think we want to get on this.

He's not the first president that's tried this.

Farmers entering harvest are dealing with higher costs.

Increased fuel and fertilizer prices from trade conflicts and the Iran war have pushed total production expenses to almost half a trillion dollars, up nearly 5% over last year.

But Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy predicts relief could come soon when the Iran war ends.

We're achieving our objectives in Iran.

And without going into details, I think we'll be out of there in about six months.

And when that happens, you're going to see the price of oil go down. and you're going to see inflation go down.

Missouri's congressional maps are headed for another U.S. Supreme Court showdown after a federal appeals court ordered the state to use newly drawn districts favoring the GOP.

The high court had twice previously rejected bids to force the use of maps that break up a Democratic-held district in Kansas City.

But a federal appeals court ruled reverting to the state's 2022 maps would be more confusing and therefore unconstitutional.

Today is the deadline for the state to mail out absentee ballots.

Trump has signed a new Russia sanctions law, which allows him to impose up to 100% levies on all imports from the five nations buying the most Russian oil or gas.

China and India, two of the largest U.S. trading partners, would be tariffed.

Critics charge that could ultimately raise U.S. prices, and if it succeeds in forcing Russian energy off the world market, it could put upward pressure on pump prices.

I'm Edwin J. Viera for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.