On: Donald Trump bans three media outlets from the White House, accusing them of...

Ban. Old word. A king proclaimed his ban, and whoever fell inside it was outside the law. Banishment. We kept the word, lost the throne, and this week somebody went looking for it.

Three newsrooms are now unwelcome in the White House. The stated reason: “fake news.” Audit that phrase, because it’s stolen property. In 2016, “fake news” meant something exact: stories invented from nothing. A teenager in Macedonia typing up a headline about the pope endorsing a candidate, cashing the ad money. Fabrication. Counterfeit goods. Then the phrase was seized by the men it was aimed at and turned around. Now “fake news” means true stories somebody powerful wishes weren’t. The counterfeiters stood in the vault and called the real bills counterfeit. I’ve watched words change jobs all my life. I never watched one get hijacked in broad daylight before.

Notice what the accusation replaces: “news.” Just news. Things that happened, checked by more than one pair of eyes. That’s the plain phrase. “Fake news” exists so no official ever has to say “true and damaging.” The longer phrase does the shorter phrase’s dirty work.

Now the ban itself. They love calling it the people’s house. So that house now keeps a list of approved writers. Watch the verb. Not “excluded.” Not “restricted.” Banned. You banish a rival. You ban an outlaw. You don’t ban a question unless you already know the answer hurts.

And that laminated pass isn’t a credential anymore. It’s a loyalty card. A government that picks its own witnesses has stopped being watched. It’s started being flattered.