Washington DC - Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently gave a bizarre defense of President Donald Trump's abrupt decision to ban multiple media outlets from the White House.

In an interview with NBC News on Tuesday, Rubio appeared to argue that the media and the public were overreacting to Trump's announcement that he had revoked press credentials for reporters with CNN, MS NOW, and Politico.

"We're not closing CNN. There aren't a bunch of police officers or soldiers kicking down the doors of MSNBC or MS NOW, whatever it's called, and arresting people and unplugging it from the grid," Rubio argued.

"They're just not allowed to work from the workspace at the White House," he added.

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Trump made the announcement in a social media post last week, alleging the outlets constantly publish "FICTION and LIES," though he did include specific examples.

While Trump has always been critical of negative headlines about him, he has taken to punishing outlets who share such reporting in his second term.

The ban has been widely criticized as unconstitutional, and the outlets have collectively filed a lawsuit to reverse it.

In the wake of the ban, the White House launched a 24/7 livestream channel titled Trump TV that critics have likened to state media in countries like North Korea, but after two days, the channel has lost nearly all its original viewers.