Backlash to Noem and Hegseth’s outrageous demands shows the simple power of saying ‘no’

[Thiệu Ngô]

Pushback on Noem’s TSA video and Hegseth’s Pentagon press policy proves the administration isn’t as all-powerful as it would like you to believe.

By Jen Psaki and Seamus O'Toole

Since the start of the government shutdown, Donald Trump and his administration have taken a wildly inappropriate (and probably illegal) approach to the blame game, using government websites and email to try to pin the shutdown on Democrats.

Some federal workers have even received suggested templates for out-of-office emails that say they were furloughed because “Democrat Senators are blocking passage” of a funding bill. Multiple government websites, like that of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, now have messages pinned to them, claiming that “the radical left in Congress shut down the government.”

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who never passes up the opportunity to get in front of a camera, has even gone so far as to tape a video to be played at TSA checkpoints at airports across the country. In the video, Noem blames Democrats for the shutdown and any delays.

But unfortunately for Noem, that video is not going to be seen by as many air travelers as she had hoped, and that’s because airports across the country are refusing to air it. Officials in Buffalo, New York; Charlotte, North Carolina; Portland, Oregon; Cleveland; Los Angeles; Phoenix and Seattle have all said that the video violates internal policies, as well as state and local laws.

As for having to hear the word “no” recently, Noem may be able to commiserate with her buddy over at the Defense Department, Pete Hegseth, because he is hearing the word a lot lately, too.

It all started when Hegseth announced that the Pentagon would drastically change its rules for journalists covering the department. Journalists were told that going forward, they must sign a pledge not to gather any information, including unclassified reports, that hasn’t been authorized for release. Essentially, only report on the stuff that Hegseth says you can, or lose your press credentials. According to the secretary, those new rules are simply “common sense.”

“It used to be, Mr. President, the press could go pretty much anywhere in the Pentagon, the most classified area in the world,” Hegseth said Tuesday. “Also, if they sign onto the credentialing, they’re not going to try to get soldiers to break the law by giving them classified information. So it’s commonsense stuff, Mr. President. We’re trying to make sure national security is respected, and we’re proud of the policy.”

Well, like many of the nation’s airports told Noem, Hegseth got a resounding “no” from newsrooms across the ideological spectrum.

On Tuesday, his former long-time employer, Fox News, along with ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN, as well as The Wall Street Journal, The Associated Press, Reuters, The New York Times, The Washington Post and even Newsmax, signed a joint statement refusing to abide by the new rules, which they said were “without precedent,” warning the policy would threaten “core journalistic protections.”

Now, when you’ve lost Newsmax, you know you have a problem.

But it goes to show, as intimidating and all-powerful as the Trump administration would like you to believe it is, a strong and simple “no” is also a pretty good option.