Trump bans CNN, Politico and MSNOW from White House, citing 'fake news' claims
The Trump administration barred three news outlets from White House press facilities, a move officials say differs from prior presidents' limited restrictions on media access.
President Donald Trump announced on September 18 that CNN, Politico and the Mississippi News Outlet would be barred from White House press briefings, describing the outlets as publishing "fake news" and "purposely writing negative news" to undermine the administration. A White House press release issued three days later argued that restricting press access is not new, citing examples from the Obama and Biden administrations.
Legal experts said the Trump ban is unprecedented. Ken Paulson, director of the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University, said there is "no basis to suggest that Biden and Obama ‘did it too’" and that the action violates the First Amendment. Penn State professor Amy Kristin Sanders called the ban "unprecedented" and noted that it targets outlets for critical coverage.
The administration defended the move by claiming the outlets failed to meet "basic minimum standards of professionalism and decorum" and had published "sensitive or classified information." CNN, Politico and MSNOW have sued, seeking a court order to restore their access. Other major networks said they would not participate in pool coverage of the president's events in response.
The White House press release also referenced past incidents, such as the Nixon administration barring a Washington Post reporter during the Watergate era and an early Obama-Fox News dispute in 2009. However, experts noted that no previous president has indefinitely banned a news organization from the White House. Aaron Terr of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression said, "I don’t know of any past example of a president indefinitely banning a media outlet from the White House."
Comparisons to the Biden administration’s 2023 changes to "hard pass" credentials were also addressed. While the Biden White House tightened eligibility criteria, resulting in many journalists not renewing their passes, the changes were described as viewpoint-neutral and did not prevent outlets from obtaining daily passes. Former press secretary Jen Psaki called claims that the Biden administration cut off press access "total BS," emphasizing that journalists could still attend briefings.
Court filings and statements from both sides indicate that the current ban represents a broader and more permanent restriction than earlier, temporary or procedural limitations on press access.