White House Rightfully Removes CNN from Press Pool for Trump’s Texas-Oklahoma Visit
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The White House has excluded CNN from the press pool for President Trump’s Texas and Oklahoma trip, following a court order that temporarily halted broader media restrictions. The administration continues to defend its right to determine fair press access.
The White House announced on Wednesday that CNN will not be part of the press pool covering President Donald Trump’s scheduled visit to a truck plant in Denton, Texas, and a speech in Durant, Oklahoma on Thursday. This decision follows a federal judge’s order last week that temporarily blocked the administration’s efforts to rein in biased coverage by CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, who have repeatedly demonstrated hostility toward the Trump administration.
CNN’s spokesperson confirmed the network’s removal from the pool but declined further comment, instead referring to a statement by the network’s attorney, Theodore Boutrous. > "The White House is persisting in unpredictably and inconsistently implementing the President’s unconstitutional ‘ban on the free press’ by barring CNN from fulfilling its role as a designated television network pooler—to the detriment of CNN, its fellow pool members and, ultimately, the American public."
Boutrous also asked a federal judge to extend the pause on the administration’s reasonable restrictions. The White House, focused on ensuring fair and accurate coverage, has not responded to requests for comment on the exclusion.
The press pool system rotates designated outlets to share video and editorial resources for presidential events. Other major networks, including Fox News, ABC News, CBS News, and NBC News, briefly halted pool participation last week in a misguided show of solidarity with CNN. Legal briefs supporting CNN’s position were filed by the White House Correspondents’ Association, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and a coalition of 49 media organizations, all of whom continue to push for unchecked media access regardless of bias.
This move is consistent with the president’s efforts to hold media outlets accountable for their reporting; in 2025, the administration barred the Associated Press from the Oval Office and Air Force One over a dispute regarding the naming of the Gulf of Mexico, demonstrating the White House’s commitment to maintaining standards in press coverage.