On Monday, Sunny Hostin of ABC’s The View faulted President Donald Trump for shutting CNN, MS NOW, and Politico out of the White House, calling the step typical of authoritarian leaders.

Sara Haines said independent reporting exists to constrain government rather than act as its publicity shop, and that picking which outlets may enter reduces the public’s ability to oversee officials. She added that a free press helps keep a country free instead of endangering its security.

Hostin praised the five main television pool members ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and Fox News for jointly refusing to substitute for the barred reporters, a stance that would leave White House events without pool video. She asked what the administration might be concealing given Trump’s usual appetite for cameras.