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On Monday, ICE agents were deployed to 14 airports throughout the country to, in theory, help ease the long lines because of a shortage of Transportation Security Administration agents. Many TSA agents have quit during this latest partial government shutdown, and thousands called out of work because they are not being paid.

The New York Times’ Jacey Fortin, Hamed Aleaziz and Gabe Castro-Root wrote Monday, “ICE agents were seen at Newark Liberty in New Jersey, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, O’Hare International Airport in Chicago and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. Some strode through terminal halls on regular patrols, while others were stationed at security checkpoints. Some T.S.A. agents said they believed ICE agents were there mostly for crowd control.”

So, where did President Donald Trump get the idea to send ICE into airports to help the TSA? It might have been …

Linda from Arizona.

Several media observers — including Semafor’s Ben Smith and CNN’s Brian Stelter — noted that a woman named Linda called into Clay Travis’ conservative radio show last Friday and made the suggestion to deploy ICE to airports.

Linda told “The Clay and Buck Show,” “I think I have a solution to the TSA problem. … We need to bring in ICE agents.” Travis replied, “Linda, I have to say that’s kind of a brilliant idea.”

So here’s where the story gets a little more suspect. That night, Travis appeared on Trump’s favorite network — Fox News — and passed along the idea. Less than 24 hours later, Trump announced the plan to send in ICE agents.

Now, it’s entirely possible that more folks than just Linda from Arizona had this idea, and it’s possible that some of those people work in the White House.

Still, you have to admit, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that a radio caller came up with an idea that will either be a shrewd move or a complete disaster. Or, from appearances so far, having no effect at all. As The Washington Post’s Amber Phillips wrote in her “5-Minute Fix” newsletter, “It’s not clear what ICE can do to help with long lines or security.”

Trump put out a social media post saying things such as “GET READY.’ NO MORE WAITING, NO MORE GAMES!” Whatever that means. As Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said in a statement, “Putting untrained personnel at security checkpoints does not fill a gap. It creates one.”

So maybe the idea that Linda from Arizona had (and the one that Travis thought was so brilliant) wasn’t the smartest idea in the world, after all.

But back to this point: It’s not unlike Trump to hear something on Fox News and then act upon it.

Stelter wrote, “The White House hasn’t commented on whether Trump did, in fact, hear the TV segment and act accordingly. But you and I both know that Trump has a decade-long track record of watching Fox and posting his reactions on social media.”

Linda, the caller, by the way, called back into the “Clay and Buck Show” on Monday and said it was “great” that her idea might have made its way to the White House.

New policy

Days after a federal judge ruled the Department of Defense’s policy of limiting access to the Pentagon was unconstitutional, the department put in place new rules to, it would appear, continue to limit access. Or at least make it more difficult.

The New York Times’ Erik Wemple wrote, “The Pentagon is closing the workspace used for years by journalists with credentials to cover the military, Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, wrote in a memo to senior Pentagon leadership. A new area for the press will be set up in an annex outside the main Pentagon building, he said, and all journalists now seeking physical access to the Pentagon will require an escort.”

Last year, the Defense Department demanded that media who work inside the Pentagon sign a pledge not to solicit or publish information that the Defense Department doesn’t make available to them, including even unclassified information. Those who didn’t would have their Pentagon access taken away. The Times sued the Pentagon and the judge ruled in the news outlet’s favor late last week.

Parnell said the Pentagon plans to appeal the ruling. In the meantime, the Defense Department changed some of the wording in its policy. Wemple wrote, “(Parnell) said the changes, like making more explicit definitions of prohibited activities, addressed concerns raised by the judge last week.”

Wemple added that “the Pentagon said its new policies would comply with the ruling while still preserving the department’s security and ‘without conceding the validity of the court’s analysis.’”

So, it would appear that the media’s court victory was short-lived as the Pentagon continues to hassle any press that won’t simply act as cheerleaders for the Department of Defense and the Trump administration.

Daniel Dale’s details

President Donald Trump tours the Jungle Room at Graceland, Elvis Presley’s historic estate, on Monday in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

CNN fact-checker and reporter Daniel Dale has noticed something about the Trump administration. Whenever its members are asked to comment on one of Trump’s false claims, two things happen.

Dale writes, “First: They say, ‘President Trump is right.’ Second: They defend some related point that isn’t the one Trump actually made.”

Dale adds, “Trump’s communications team has returned to this ‘President Trump is right’ template again and again during his second presidency. Even in response to his most clearly inaccurate statements.”

Last year, for example, Poynter’s PolitiFact asked the White House about Trump’s claim that the U.S. currently had no inflation. PolitiFact’s Louis Jacobson wrote, “When we asked the White House for evidence to back up Trump’s statements, White House spokesperson Kush Desai echoed the news releases’ language, saying, ‘President Trump is right: The days of Joe Biden’s debilitating inflation crisis are over. Since President Trump took office, inflation has been tracking at a low and stable 2.3 percent annualized rate and real wages for American workers are up.’”

Dale wrote, “Notably missing from Desai’s ‘President Trump is right’ reply was any attempt to demonstrate that Trump’s ‘no inflation’ claim was indeed right. In fact, Desai’s assertion that inflation was ‘a low and stable 2.3 percent annualized rate’ contradicted Trump’s assertion that inflation no longer existed.”

You get the drift of what Trump spokespersons say over and over and over again, including when asked about the war in Iran.

So when Dale asked the White House about why administration spokespeople say Trump is right when he clearly isn’t, they said: “President Trump has been right about everything, and CNN struggles to accept this. Sad!”

OK, that response — “Trump is right about everything” — to that specific question would actually be out-loud funny if it wasn’t so, well, sad.

Dale has theories about why this line is uttered again and again, so check out his piece for the details.

Move causes stir

Two weeks ago, Scott MacFarlane left his job as justice correspondent at CBS News. On Monday, he announced his next step — and it’s drawing quite the buzz, particularly from conservatives.

MacFarlane says he is joining MeidasTouch, a digital outlet that calls itself a “pro-democracy news network” and is known for its criticisms of President Donald Trump. MacFarlane will be the chief Washington correspondent for the outlet and host a daily program called “Scott MacFarlane Reports.”

In making his announcement on social media, MacFarlane said, “I’m not an opinionist, not an editorialist. I’m far from a politician. I’m an enterprise reporter. Have been for a quarter century. What I’ll do is bring this enterprise reporting to all the components of the MeidasTouch network, all the contributors of the MeidasTouch Network.”

He added, “It’s important when we underscore how significant this moment is, this moment of unique political toxicity and unique political danger. MeidasTouch and I have long shared this same philosophy — you don’t platform lies. You don’t platform conspiracy theories. And you don’t allow for the whitewashing of history.”

He also posted something on his Substack, writing, in part, “MediasTouch has always communicated in a way that mirrors my own style. They’re straight to the point: No wasted time, no credibility given to malignant lies and they ensure a proper storytelling and context to best inform people. We have the same North Star: Pro-democracy, pro-truth and no covering for any government official.”

His announcement drew plenty of criticism from the right, which considers MediaTouch a pro-Democratic, liberal network. Mediaite’s Sean James has more with “Conservatives Call Out Ex-CBS Reporter’s Move to Left-Wing Outfit: ‘Why No One Trusts Corporate Media.’”

Of course, it would be interesting to go back and see if those criticizing MacFarlane’s move were also quick to criticize the shuttle that seems to run back-and-forth between Fox News and the Trump White House.

MacFarlane left CBS News two weeks ago. While it wasn’t the reason he left, there were reports MacFarlane was displeased with the brief mention of the Jan. 6 insurrection received on its fifth anniversary during the “CBS Evening News.” There was reporting that he didn’t like the news atmosphere under relatively new editor-in-chief Bari Weiss.

Status’ Oliver Darcy wrote at the time of MacFarlane’s departure, “Multiple people familiar with the matter told Status that MacFarlane had grown disillusioned with the overall direction of the network under the anti-woke warrior Weiss, who since being appointed by David Ellison in October has sought to put the venerable news outlet on better footing with Donald Trump and his administration.”

Breaking her own news

Rahel Solomon — who anchors CNN’s “Early Start” weekdays from 4 to 6 a.m. Eastern — shared some breaking news on Monday morning. She announced she is leaving the network.

She told viewers, “OK, now to some personal news. I have decided that this will be my last week at CNN. More to come on what’s next for me, but I’m really excited about this next chapter. For now, a huge, huge thank you to the team here on early start. We have covered some major breaking news during our hours and I am so proud to have worked alongside you.”

Solomon joined CNN from CNBC in 2022. She got her own early morning show — “5 Things with Rahel Solomon” — in March 2025. Her last day will be Friday.

A CNN spokesperson told the New York Post’s Alexandra Steigrad, “We are grateful to Rahel for all her contributions to CNN over the past four years and are supportive of her decision. We wish her all the best in her next chapter.”

Todd’s new pod

Former “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd and former ESPN journalist J.A. Adande are teaming up for a new podcast called “Dynastic.” Variety’s Brian Steinberg writes that the podcast “will analyze how sports teams build themselves into true franchises and influential case studies. Their first shows will center on the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers, diving into how the Dodgers, for example, were early to grab on to the lure of a stadium; to reach out to different cultures to fill the team’s roster; and to grasp the power of sports media.”

Todd, who left NBC News in January 2025, hosts “The Chuck ToddCast” podcast. Adande is a longtime sportswriter whose impressive career includes work at the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post, as well as many years at ESPN. He used to be a regular on shows such as “Around the Horn.” These days, he is the director of sports journalism at Northwestern University.

The new podcast debuts today. It will be distributed by iHeart and be carried by most major podcast platforms.

Todd told Steinberg that when it comes to sports, “everybody’s understandably obsessed with the on-the-field product. But we think there’s a great story to tell about the history of these franchises. We plan to do college, as well, whether it’s UConn women or Alabama football.”

I know Todd a bit and can tell you his knowledge and love of sports run deep. And Adande has excellent sports journalism chops. Awful Announcing’s Drew Lerner wrote, “It would appear as if these episodes are true journalistic endeavors, which fits the bill for a pair like Todd and Adande. The Dodgers episode will run about two hours and thirty minutes, and the duo won’t be currying favor with the teams they decide to cover.”

Media tidbits

• Mediaite’s Ahmad Austin Jr. with “Charlamagne Tha God Unleashes On Trump in Blistering Rant: When You Die, ‘People Are Gonna Treat It Like Mardi Gras!’”
• Originally published in the Student Press Report — a national news desk covering student media and journalism education in higher ed — and republished by Poynter, it’s Olivia Silvester with “Don Lemon is ready to stand up for press freedoms. Are the rest of us?”
• The Washington Post’s Kara Voght with “At the Gridiron dinner, it’s time for the 2028 potentials to be roasted.”
• This is for Los Angeles Times subscribers only — Stephen Battaglio and Cerys Davies with “Inside the crisis facing local TV news: Layoffs, consolidation and shrinking ratings.” Battaglio and Davies write, “More than 2,000 TV stations nationwide still provide a vital role in communities, delivering as much as 12 hours a day in programming, live sports and local news to every household in the U.S. But they are now faced with an aging audience that isn’t being replaced by younger viewers who prefer streaming platforms and social media.”
• CNN’s Lianne Kolirin with “Banksy has been unmasked. But just how valuable is anonymity in the art world?”
• Speaking of art, The Washington Post’s Michael S. Rosenwald with “Calvin Tomkins, who narrated the rise of contemporary art, dies at 100.”
• As I mentioned in Monday’s newsletter, there was horrific news out of Minnesota over the weekend as a correspondent for NHL.com and her three children were killed in a house fire. The Athletic’s Michael Russo and Joe Smith have a nice remembrance in “Jessi Pierce will be remembered for the heart, humor and zest she had for the Wild — and life.”

Hot type

• For The New York Times, Jeneen Interlandi with “Inside the Turmoil at Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s C.D.C.”
• Recorded at SXSW 2026, The Ringer’s Sean Fennessey talks with the legendary film director for “The Steven Spielberg Conversation.”

More resources for journalists

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• New editors: Get guidance from industry veterans and build the skills you need to become indispensable to your newsroom. Apply now.
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Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at tjones@poynter.org.

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