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Behold the most ludicrous argument unfolding after President Donald Trump's latest attempt to deny White House press passes to Trump-loathing reporters. Somehow, the liberal elitists shamelessly claim they represent the entire American people in the briefing room and not just their own pink-haired audience.

See National "Public" Radio White House reporter Tamara Keith, who told a CNN interviewer about her job: "I'm doing it on behalf of the American people. I'm not doing it for me. Um, and by kicking people out, he's kicking the American people out of the room. He's kicking the American people out of the people's house." This ignores the many millions of people who voted for Trump -- and against all the elitist media noise.

These reporters never represent all Americans when Democrats are the ones facing national scrutiny. Keith's most memorable act of journalistic flattery came when Hillary Clinton seized the Democratic nomination for president in 2016. She wasn't going to press Hillary about the scandal over her private email server to avoid media scrutiny when she was secretary of state, or any other troublesome topic. She was there to gush.

"Last night when you took the stage in Sacramento, there was a woman standing next to me who was absolutely sobbing," Keith told Mrs. Clinton. "And she said, you know, 'It's time. It's past time.' And you see the women -- you see people here and people just come up to you and they get tears in their eyes. Do you feel -- do you feel the weight of what this means for people?" Hillary said, "I do."

The White House Briefing Room is a dramatically different setting, depending on which party is in control of the presidency. Under Republicans (and especially under Trump), it's a room full of bloodthirsty sharks. Under Democrats, it displays all the ferocity of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."

Under former President Joe Biden, when there was a rare press conference, his press shop gave the president note cards with the name of the reporter, their picture and their expected question -- which hinted that reporters were sharing their planned questions in advance with Team Biden. One reporter exposed was Courtney Subramanian of the Los Angeles Times. Back then, CNN White House reporter Arlette Saenz -- the opposite of Jim Acosta -- rushed to defend this press pampering.

"It's worth noting that her question was not identical to what was on that note card and her outlet says that they did not submit any questions to the White House ahead of this press conference," Saenz declared. But anyone watching the presser could see it was similar enough. Then she lamented, "These types of moments are things that Republicans have seized on, especially as they have tried to highlight President Biden's age."

The only aggression that Biden had to fear came from those pouncing Republicans, not from a press corps full of Biden-Harris voters.

President Trump cannot empty his briefing room of all those Democratic journalists -- they're still the vast majority of people sitting there. Welcoming in more reporters from right-leaning outlets has caused a grand disturbance in liberal circles about "MAGA Media" diluting their political poison.

But everyone should acknowledge that the press isn't nonpartisan and it doesn't hold everyone accountable. Reporters seek to ruin Trump, impeach him, even imprison him. Democrats are protected and promoted and asked gentle questions about how the Democrats can find a way to overcome those nasty Republicans and win.

There is no fairness and balance in Washington. No reporter represents all Americans. A functioning democracy requires voters who can wade through all the "news" and vote to check and balance the dominant media.

Tim Graham is director of media analysis at the Media Research Center and executive editor of the blog NewsBusters.org. To find out more about Tim Graham and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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