PoliticsThe View's Alyssa Farah Griffin Calls Donald Trump’s Press Ban a 'Complete Self-Own': 'He Needs the Media to Thrive'
'The View' co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin explained how Donald Trump wound up hurting himself with his press ban.
Sept. 25 2026, Published 10:09 a.m. ET
The View co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin blasted Donald Trump’s White House press ban as a "complete self-own," arguing that the president's political survival and existence depend on media exposure.
Griffin noted that the resulting media restrictions backfired during a major diplomatic visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping, leaving no American pool footage of the event.
The 37-year-old TV personality worked directly for Trump during his first administration, serving in various high-profile communications positions before resigning in December 2020.
Alyssa Farah Griffin pointed out how Donald Trump's media ban backfired.
“This was a complete self-own by Donald Trump,” Farah Griffin said on the Thursday, September 24, episode of the talk show. “Donald Trump needs the media to thrive, to survive, and to get his message out there. And first and foremost, we all knew this was going to be overturned. There was the precedent from when Jim Acosta’s credentials were revoked, and the judge ruled in his favor.”
The mom-of-one offered her expertise on the president’s thirst for flattery and exposure, saying the ban has badly backfired.
“But also, Donald Trump is dependent on the media covering him, and it’s happening in a very consequential week,” she continued. “He’s for months been planning for this President Xi visit yesterday. You have the Chinese president come to the White House; there’s no pool footage. There’s no American media covering that arrival, covering what’s happening in those discussions.”
'He Loves Being on Television'
Sunny Hostin thinks the POTUS will eventually 'beg the press to come back.'
She added that the POTUS would reverse his decision because he is “codependent and needs the media.”
Co-host Sunny Hostin agreed, replying, “He loves being covered. He loves being on television. And a lot of times, it’s reported and recorded that he lies to the American people through the use of media. And so, I wonder if you take that oxygen away from him, and stop covering him, what is he going to do? He’d probably beg the press to come back.”
While the Trump administration has complied with a federal court order to restore White House access to CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, the underlying legal battle continues.
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Press Ban Update
Press were allowed back into the White House on September 24.
On September 24, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a 14-day temporary restraining order, ruling that the White House likely violated the news outlets’ constitutional due process rights by revoking their press credentials without proper notice.
After a hectic morning delay in which Secret Service agents initially turned reporters away and confiscated credentials, White House operations officially reactivated and returned the entry badges. Journalists from all three barred outlets returned to the grounds on Thursday afternoon.
Despite being allowed back onto the White House grounds later that day, journalists and editorial teams from CNN and MS NOW were turned away from covering the guest arrivals at the North Portico for the state dinner.
Donald Trump lashed out at the networks for not covering his dinner with Xi Jinping.
As a result, the major television networks — including ABC News, CBS News, NBC News and even Fox News — continued their solidarity boycott of the television press pool.
None of the major American networks broadcast live footage of the dinner arrivals. The White House streamed the arrivals on its official YouTube channel, which drew minimal viewership.
Trump criticized the networks on social media, claiming they "refused to cover" the magnificent arrival because they are "Fake News" and did not want him to get credit for the spectacular event.
