The Week Two Federal Judges Told Trump 'No' — and His Own Ad Campaign Still Didn't Listen
Three losses this week, and the throughline is an administration that keeps getting told to stop — by judges, by its own numbers, and in one case, repeatedly, by the same judge. Pour something cold; the compliance rate is almost as bad as the approval rating.
1. Trump Banned the Press Over 'Mean' Coverage. A Judge Just Called the Ban Illegal.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly — appointed by Trump himself — ruled on October 13 that the White House's ban on CNN, MS NOW, and Politico reporters was likely "unlawful viewpoint discrimination" under the First Amendment. The outlets sued after the administration yanked their hard passes in September over coverage Trump branded "FICTION and LIES"; Kelly's order found the record showed the real motive was the reporting itself, not the national-security justification offered after the fact. Al Jazeera reports the preliminary injunction keeps all three newsrooms in the briefing room pending a final ruling, and the administration's notice of appeal doesn't pause it.
Three newsrooms got banned for calling it like they saw it. A federal judge read the record and called it illegal. Turns out the only fiction here was the national-security excuse.
2. A Judge Pulled the Plug on Trump's $20 Million Taxpayer-Funded Fan Campaign. They Kept Running It Anyway.
U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rochon issued a temporary restraining order on October 11 shutting down a roughly $20 million Department of Homeland Security ad campaign promoting Trump ahead of the midterms, finding Common Cause and its co-plaintiffs likely to win their claim that DHS misused funds Congress never appropriated for self-promotion. The order told the agency to cancel every ad still scheduled to run — including spots set to air that same night — and barred new ad deals for two weeks. NBC reports that two days later, the plaintiffs told the court the ads were still airing anyway, and asked for a status conference on compliance rather than moving straight to a contempt motion — for now.
A federal judge told them to stop running taxpayer-funded ads for a guy who already has the job. They kept running them and called it a scheduling issue. Even a DVR knows how to cut to commercial better than that.
3. New Poll, Same Basement: Trump's Approval Keeps Finding a Sub-Floor
An Economist/YouGov poll fielded October 10–12 and released October 14 put Trump's approval at 34%, with 62% disapproving — a net approval of -28, among the worst marks of his second term. YouGov ties the slide directly to the run-up to the 2026 midterms, finding opinion of him souring across the board as Election Day nears.
He said the midterms would be a referendum on his record. The record just filed its own motion to dismiss him.
Now go back to doomscrolling. You've earned five minutes of not-doom.