Trump roars at 'national security threat' that has 'grown like cancer' after lawsuit

President Donald Trump took to social media Monday to condemn what he called a major "threat to our National Security" that had grown "out of control," ultimately revealing the threat to be news outlets reporting "FAKE NEWS."

In a move that shocked onlookers, Trump followed through on his threat to ban three major U.S. news outlets — MS NOW, CNN and Politico — from the White House over the weekend, and vowed that other media outlets would also be banned at a future date. The decision received considerable blowback in the media, which Trump responded to in his Monday rant.

"The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

"It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America. It is corrupt, purposeful, pervasive, fully coordinated, and totally out of control. It is a threat to our National Security, and must be stopped, NOW!"

Trump's tirade came the same morning the three banned outlets hit back in court.

MS NOW, CNN and Politico sued the president and several top officials Monday in U.S. District Court in Washington, asking a judge to immediately lift the ban and restore their reporters' credentials. The suit alleges the ban is viewpoint discrimination that violates the First Amendment, retaliating against the outlets over coverage Trump dislikes. Reporters for all three had their hard passes confiscated by a Secret Service officer when they tried to enter the White House on Saturday.

With the midterms just weeks away, however, some prominent Republicans criticized the move as self-defeating and a clear example of an increasingly frustrated Trump leaning on tactics that had worked for him in the past.