District Judge Tim Kelly lifted a press ban Trump announced on Sept. 18. Three outlets got their access restored. The White House complied immediately because that's what happens when a judge tells you to do something.
Reporters who cover financial markets for a living spent weeks unable to ask questions at press briefings. The S&P 500 somehow continued to move based on literally anything except those questions. Turns out—and I cannot stress this enough—not a single institutional trader was refreshing WhiteHouse.gov waiting for transcript updates.
The ban lasted exactly long enough for every retail trader in America to convince themselves they had an edge because they were "reading between the lines" of press secretary statements. They did not have an edge. They had a Robinhood account and a YouTube video from a guy named Marcus who films in his Camry.
Judge Kelly said the outlets should have their access immediately restored. The decision was based on First Amendment grounds, which is the legal equivalent of telling someone they're being an asshole. The White House didn't appeal. They just opened the door and pretended nothing happened, like a bouncer who realizes he threw out the owner's nephew.
Now those three outlets are back in the briefing room. They will ask questions. Those questions will generate headlines. Those headlines will move stock prices for approximately eleven seconds until algos realize the words don't actually mean anything. Then prices will return to wherever they were going anyway, which is wherever the actual money was already pointed.
The reporters are probably relieved. The market doesn't care. Your portfolio definitely doesn't care. And if you traded based on White House press briefing sentiment during the ban, you're now broke enough that you can't afford the subscription to read this anyway.
Photo by David Everett Strickler on Unsplash
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