Politics chat: Trump announces a Greenland deal, bans more media from the White House

We look at President Trump's announced ban of some media outlets covering the White House, as well as what a big cash windfall might mean for Republicans in the coming midterm elections.

DEBBIE ELLIOTT, HOST: Some media outlets are locked out of the White House, and President Trump is threatening to ban more. He also says he's secured a deal with Denmark for a U.S. presence in Greenland. Those are just two of the political developments from this past week. To talk about all of this and the midterm elections, we're joined by NPR's Stephen Fowler. Good morning, Stephen. STEPHEN FOWLER, BYLINE: Good morning. ELLIOTT: So a busy Friday in Washington, per usual. Let's start with Trump's announcement about a deal regarding Greenland. What does it mean? FOWLER: We don't actually know much about what it means because the full details of this agreement have not been released. And it hasn't been approved yet by the people it needs to - the governments of Greenland and Denmark. Ultimately, we know it's supposed to bolster an existing American military presence there as an effort to deter threats from Russia and China. And remember, there was this push by the administration to purchase or acquire Greenland, even posturing from Trump and the White House that they could seize the island by force from Denmark, a fellow NATO ally. But we do know Denmark will remain in control of its territory. And you could argue that this is a rare foreign policy win for President Trump at a time when the ongoing Iran war is deeply unpopular. ELLIOTT: Now, also Friday, the President banned reporters from Politico, CNN and MS NOW from the White House. This is not the first time Trump has tried to crack down on press access when he disagrees or disapproves of reporting. What was the impetus this time? FOWLER: Another thing we don't actually know that much about. There wasn't a reason given other than perceived negative coverage of the administration and claiming they report, quote, "fiction and lies." Remember, last year, he tried unsuccessfully to ban The Associated Press after they refused to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, like an executive order claimed it should be. The White House Correspondents' Association president, Jacqui Heinrich, said Friday that, quote, "the Constitution protects the freedom of the press from government interference." But - and also, this same White House Correspondents' Association invited Trump to the correspondents' dinner earlier this year, even as he has escalated these attacks on the press. ELLIOTT: Meanwhile, I understand you've got some fresh reporting on Trump-aligned midterm ad spending intended to help out some vulnerable candidates - $150 million from two new super PACs. What is that spending going to mean? FOWLER: It's part of this post-Labor Day Republican money bomb that has led to the GOP having more planned spending than Democrats in eight of nine key Senate races, Georgia being the only exception. Looking in context at data from the tracking firm AdImpact, there's been almost $4 billion in ad reservations planned for House and Senate races. But one of these new groups, No Going Back PAC, is already quickly one of the largest spenders of the entire midterm in just the span of a few weeks. To put my campaign finance wonk hat on, it doesn't actually get you as much these days as it used to because there's a ton of ad space and money already reserved, and by law, candidates get the cheapest ad rates. And in a lot of these competitive races, the Democratic candidates have way more cash than Republicans. So this PAC money may look huge on paper, but it doesn't get a lot of bang for the buck to try and reach the same amount of eyeballs. ELLIOTT: Do you know where it's headed, though? I mean, what can you tell us about what the spending will target? You know, you've got a - an unpopular administration. How are the Republicans going to prioritize this money, and can it make a difference? FOWLER: This is definitely a defensive spend. You've got spending in House districts where Trump won by more than 10 or 15 points in 2024 in places like Texas, Kentucky, Alabama - Senate races in reliably red states that could give Democrats a majority if they win. And the campaign trail this week saw Trump in North Carolina, Vice President JD Vance in Kansas and Iowa, which in a normal year should not be something that Republicans sweat. Listen to Louisiana senator John Kennedy, who told reporters last week that he was going to campaign in Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) JOHN KENNEDY: If you'd told me six months ago I was going to be having to spend my time in those three states, I wouldn't have believed you. UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Does your travel... KENNEDY: Those ought to be fat-guy layups for us. ELLIOTT: Fat-guy layups. FOWLER: Yeah. That's a phrase. ELLIOTT: (Laughter). FOWLER: There's no guarantee that spending more money turns these races in Republicans' favor, especially when voters are attuned to spending more money on gas and groceries and other things right now because of the administration's policies. It does mean, Debbie, that both Democrats and Republicans are going to spend these last few weeks playing whack-a-mole with races in districts that they visit and spend money in. And this is a time when there's more moles than ever and more deep-pocketed groups doing all the whacking. ELLIOTT: That's NPR's Stephen Fowler. Thanks for being with us this morning. FOWLER: Thank you. Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

DEBBIE ELLIOTT, HOST: Some media outlets are locked out of the White House, and President Trump is threatening to ban more. He also says he's secured a deal with Denmark for a U.S. presence in Greenland. Those are just two of the political developments from this past week. To talk about all of this and the midterm elections, we're joined by NPR's Stephen Fowler. Good morning, Stephen. STEPHEN FOWLER, BYLINE: Good morning. ELLIOTT: So a busy Friday in Washington, per usual. Let's start with Trump's announcement about a deal regarding Greenland. What does it mean? FOWLER: We don't actually know much about what it means because the full details of this agreement have not been released. And it hasn't been approved yet by the people it needs to - the governments of Greenland and Denmark. Ultimately, we know it's supposed to bolster an existing American military presence there as an effort to deter threats from Russia and China. And remember, there was this push by the administration to purchase or acquire Greenland, even posturing from Trump and the White House that they could seize the island by force from Denmark, a fellow NATO ally. But we do know Denmark will remain in control of its territory. And you could argue that this is a rare foreign policy win for President Trump at a time when the ongoing Iran war is deeply unpopular. ELLIOTT: Now, also Friday, the President banned reporters from Politico, CNN and MS NOW from the White House. This is not the first time Trump has tried to crack down on press access when he disagrees or disapproves of reporting. What was the impetus this time? FOWLER: Another thing we don't actually know that much about. There wasn't a reason given other than perceived negative coverage of the administration and claiming they report, quote, "fiction and lies." Remember, last year, he tried unsuccessfully to ban The Associated Press after they refused to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, like an executive order claimed it should be. The White House Correspondents' Association president, Jacqui Heinrich, said Friday that, quote, "the Constitution protects the freedom of the press from government interference." But - and also, this same White House Correspondents' Association invited Trump to the correspondents' dinner earlier this year, even as he has escalated these attacks on the press. ELLIOTT: Meanwhile, I understand you've got some fresh reporting on Trump-aligned midterm ad spending intended to help out some vulnerable candidates - $150 million from two new super PACs. What is that spending going to mean? FOWLER: It's part of this post-Labor Day Republican money bomb that has led to the GOP having more planned spending than Democrats in eight of nine key Senate races, Georgia being the only exception. Looking in context at data from the tracking firm AdImpact, there's been almost $4 billion in ad reservations planned for House and Senate races. But one of these new groups, No Going Back PAC, is already quickly one of the largest spenders of the entire midterm in just the span of a few weeks. To put my campaign finance wonk hat on, it doesn't actually get you as much these days as it used to because there's a ton of ad space and money already reserved, and by law, candidates get the cheapest ad rates. And in a lot of these competitive races, the Democratic candidates have way more cash than Republicans. So this PAC money may look huge on paper, but it doesn't get a lot of bang for the buck to try and reach the same amount of eyeballs. ELLIOTT: Do you know where it's headed, though? I mean, what can you tell us about what the spending will target? You know, you've got a - an unpopular administration. How are the Republicans going to prioritize this money, and can it make a difference? FOWLER: This is definitely a defensive spend. You've got spending in House districts where Trump won by more than 10 or 15 points in 2024 in places like Texas, Kentucky, Alabama - Senate races in reliably red states that could give Democrats a majority if they win. And the campaign trail this week saw Trump in North Carolina, Vice President JD Vance in Kansas and Iowa, which in a normal year should not be something that Republicans sweat. Listen to Louisiana senator John Kennedy, who told reporters last week that he was going to campaign in Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) JOHN KENNEDY: If you'd told me six months ago I was going to be having to spend my time in those three states, I wouldn't have believed you. UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Does your travel... KENNEDY: Those ought to be fat-guy layups for us. ELLIOTT: Fat-guy layups. FOWLER: Yeah. That's a phrase. ELLIOTT: (Laughter). FOWLER: There's no guarantee that spending more money turns these races in Republicans' favor, especially when voters are attuned to spending more money on gas and groceries and other things right now because of the administration's policies. It does mean, Debbie, that both Democrats and Republicans are going to spend these last few weeks playing whack-a-mole with races in districts that they visit and spend money in. And this is a time when there's more moles than ever and more deep-pocketed groups doing all the whacking. ELLIOTT: That's NPR's Stephen Fowler. Thanks for being with us this morning. FOWLER: Thank you. Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Some media outlets are locked out of the White House, and President Trump is threatening to ban more. He also says he's secured a deal with Denmark for a U.S. presence in Greenland. Those are just two of the political developments from this past week. To talk about all of this and the midterm elections, we're joined by NPR's Stephen Fowler. Good morning, Stephen. STEPHEN FOWLER, BYLINE: Good morning. ELLIOTT: So a busy Friday in Washington, per usual. Let's start with Trump's announcement about a deal regarding Greenland. What does it mean? FOWLER: We don't actually know much about what it means because the full details of this agreement have not been released. And it hasn't been approved yet by the people it needs to - the governments of Greenland and Denmark. Ultimately, we know it's supposed to bolster an existing American military presence there as an effort to deter threats from Russia and China. And remember, there was this push by the administration to purchase or acquire Greenland, even posturing from Trump and the White House that they could seize the island by force from Denmark, a fellow NATO ally. But we do know Denmark will remain in control of its territory. And you could argue that this is a rare foreign policy win for President Trump at a time when the ongoing Iran war is deeply unpopular. ELLIOTT: Now, also Friday, the President banned reporters from Politico, CNN and MS NOW from the White House. This is not the first time Trump has tried to crack down on press access when he disagrees or disapproves of reporting. What was the impetus this time? FOWLER: Another thing we don't actually know that much about. There wasn't a reason given other than perceived negative coverage of the administration and claiming they report, quote, "fiction and lies." Remember, last year, he tried unsuccessfully to ban The Associated Press after they refused to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, like an executive order claimed it should be. The White House Correspondents' Association president, Jacqui Heinrich, said Friday that, quote, "the Constitution protects the freedom of the press from government interference." But - and also, this same White House Correspondents' Association invited Trump to the correspondents' dinner earlier this year, even as he has escalated these attacks on the press. ELLIOTT: Meanwhile, I understand you've got some fresh reporting on Trump-aligned midterm ad spending intended to help out some vulnerable candidates - $150 million from two new super PACs. What is that spending going to mean? FOWLER: It's part of this post-Labor Day Republican money bomb that has led to the GOP having more planned spending than Democrats in eight of nine key Senate races, Georgia being the only exception. Looking in context at data from the tracking firm AdImpact, there's been almost $4 billion in ad reservations planned for House and Senate races. But one of these new groups, No Going Back PAC, is already quickly one of the largest spenders of the entire midterm in just the span of a few weeks. To put my campaign finance wonk hat on, it doesn't actually get you as much these days as it used to because there's a ton of ad space and money already reserved, and by law, candidates get the cheapest ad rates. And in a lot of these competitive races