President Donald Trump's latest outburst at the press gave away more than he meant to, according to The New Republic's Greg Sargent: it showed how much he depends on the coverage he says he doesn't need.
Trump banned reporters from CNN, Politico and MS Now from the White House grounds. The networks that run the White House press pool then joined those outlets in solidarity and suspended the pool's rolling coverage of the president. As a result, the networks didn't film the arrival of Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Trump's big ceremonial welcome got little airtime.
Trump went after the outlets on Truth Social.
"CNN and MSDNC, to show you how fake they are, today refused to cover one of the Biggest and Most Beautiful Events to take place in many years," he wrote, calling the event "magnificent" and "Actually made for Television."
Sargent wrote in a column Saturday that the post exposed a weakness.
"In angrily pretending the news organizations boycotted the event to deny him attention during a successful moment, all Trump really demonstrated is that he badly needs their attention," he wrote.
He argued that the media's joint response "has located a real weak spot—and nailed it with a direct hit."
Sargent also took on Trump's claim that his "Popularity has grown." He pointed out that the Cook Political Report just shifted 15 House races toward Democrats. Those include North Carolina's 11th district and Texas's 15th district, which Trump carried by nearly 10 and 18 points.
Sargent said law firms, universities and media companies spent much of Trump's second term giving in to him. In his view, they overestimated what it would cost to stand up to the president.
"Not only is the immediate price for bucking Trump small; it actually works," Sargent wrote. "It's one of the only things that can really disarm him."