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By Anna Commander, Joshua Rhett Miller, and Hollie Silverman
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President Donald Trump announced Friday that he is banning news outlets CNN, Politico and MS NOW "effective immediately" from the White House for what he infamously labels "fake news" reporting.
The president has a notoriously tainted relationship with the media, routinely calling out outlets during rallies and on social media, and has a long-running pattern of confronting female journalists. Trump has also filed numerous lawsuits against media outlets including ABC News, CBS News and The New York Times.
In his post to Truth Social on Friday, the president said: "I am proud to announce that, effective immediately, I am banning Fake News CNN, MSNOW (who recently changed their name from MSNBC due to lack of viewership and credibility!), and Politico (The recipients of an illegal and ridiculous $8 Million Dollar subscription, an All Time Record, directly from the United States Government, under Crooked Joe Biden, in order to keep them 'alive.' Seems like corruption to me!), from the White House as a result of their constant 'reporting' FAKE NEWS!"
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Trump continued, saying outlets should not be allowed to publish "fiction and lies" while covering the president, the administration or the country. He also warned that there will be "Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow."
When reached for comment on Friday, the White House referred Newsweek to the president's remarks in the Oval Office.
Reporters From CNN, MS NOW, and Politico Denied Access
On Saturday, the White House turned away reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico.
MS NOW White House correspondent Akayla Gardner said on air that her entry badge was confiscated and that she was turned away. Gardner said she walked through two gates before an officer told her at a badge scanner that her badge was disabled. She said she was asked to hand it over, with the security officer telling her the decision "was above him."
Gardner said that a MS NOW producer was able to get into the White House, but a photographer also had their badge disabled.
“The White House belongs to the American people and the decisions made inside are funded by our tax dollars,” MS NOW said in a statement issued Saturday. “MS NOW intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalism in our democracy.”
CNN said senior White House reporter Betsy Klein was also turned away. In a statement that was shown on the air, the network said Saturday that it “will not be deflected from our duty to hold the government and other public bodies to account."
In a statement emailed to Newsweek on Saturday, a CNN spokesperson said, "Earlier today, CNN journalists were denied access to the White House grounds. CNN's mission to report on the U.S. government will continue, regardless of any attempts to restrict physical access to the White House and other government buildings, or any other attempts to impede our journalism."
The spokesperson continued: "We have a right under the U.S. Constitution to do our reporting without hindrance or interference from the government, and this ban is an illegal assault on this fundamental right. We will not be deflected from our duty to hold the government and other public bodies to account, and we will continue to report on the actions and processes of this administration without fear or favor. CNN stands fully behind our White House team."
Politico White House reporter Cheyenne Haslett was also denied entry by the Secret Service Saturday, according to Politico's editor in chief Jonathan Greenberger.
“A few minutes ago, our colleague Cheyenne Haslett attempted to enter the White House to do her job as a POLITICO reporter," Greenberger said in a statement. "Secret Service denied her entry to the complex and confiscated the pass that allows her access to the White House. We stand by her and all reporters here covering the White House. As we said yesterday, we will vigorously defend our First Amendment rights.”
Politico told Newsweek on Friday that it will continue to report fairly on the current White House and future ones.
"We will vigorously defend our First Amendment rights against any attempt to restrict them. The claims that Politico received government subsidies are false and have been thoroughly debunked."
On Saturday, Associated Press Chief Communications Officer Lauren Easton told Newsweek in an emailed statement, "No news organization - or person - should be retaliated against by the government over the words they use. This is why the AP continues to stand for the fundamental American freedom to speak freely without government retaliation, a right enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and one that U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden clearly upheld when ruled on AP's case."
"We stand with the news organizations who have had their access restricted," Easton said.
Jacqui Heinrich, White House Correspondent Association (WHCA) president, commented about the situation on X Saturday, writing, "Today’s action revoking access for journalists from CNN, POLITICO, and MSNOW violates the First Amendment. The implications extend beyond these organizations: a standard used to exclude one news outlet because of its coverage could be applied to any outlet in the future."
She continued: "The American people, through a free and independent press, must be able to scrutinize those elected to power, regardless of whether government officials view it favorably. That’s why courts have repeatedly held that once the White House provides access to journalists, it cannot deny that access arbitrarily or based on the content of their reporting. The WHCA calls on the administration to immediately restore our colleagues' access."
Trump's Media Ban Isn't New
While talking to reporters from the Oval Office on Friday, the president said that no one thing sparked the so-called ban, but it is due to "cumulative stories over the last few years," adding, "You get sick of it."
When asked about who may come next, the president said in part, "The New York Times is fake news, Washington Post is fake news...both doing very poorly by the way." He also called The Post "disgusting."
The president's media ban is not new.
He barred the AP from Air Force One, the Oval Office and other events, seemingly in response to the outlet not renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America." The AP reports that it filed a lawsuit, which remains ongoing.
Dave Aronberg, former Palm Beach County state attorney, told Newsweek on Friday when asked if the president has legal grounds for the ban, "No, not if he is excluding them because of their coverage."
Aronberg continued, "The White House has substantial discretion to manage press access, space constraints and logistics, but the First Amendment does not permit the government to single out news organizations for unfavorable treatment because it dislikes their reporting or editorial viewpoint.
"That principle was front and center in the recent Associated Press litigation, where a federal judge ruled that although the White House does not have to give every journalist access to every event, once it opens an event to some journalists it cannot exclude others because of their viewpoint," he added.
Jameel Jaffer, executive director at Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, told Newsweek in a released statement on Friday: “The First Amendment prohibits the president from punishing journalists because he doesn’t like their coverage, just as it prohibits him from punishing universities because he doesn’t like the courses they offer, or from punishing law firms because he doesn’t like the clients they represent."
Jaffer continued: "With so many courts having ruled against him on exactly this point, you’d think President Trump would have learned this lesson by now. If President Trump means to expel these news organizations from the White House press pool, his action is doubly unconstitutional because the press pool is a ‘public forum’ under the First Amendment, which means the president can’t exclude journalists from it on the basis of their viewpoints.”
Outlets Trump Has Threatened to Exclude or Remove Access To
- CNN
- Politico
- MS NOW
- The AP
- Bloomberg
- Reuters
Last year, the Trump Administration rolled out a new media strategy, removing the AP, Reuters and Bloomberg from maintaining a regular spot in the presidential press pool.
The president has routinely taken swipes at female reporters across numerous outlets for their reporting and questions, while periodically publicly denouncing their appearances. He has floated new lawsuits against outlets for what he calls "corrupt news." He has recently specifically taken aim at CNN's Kaitlan Collins, The Times' Maggie Haberman, Bloomberg's Catherine Lucey and ABC News correspondent Mary Bruce.
Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson reacted to Trump's announcement on X, saying in part that every American should be "scared."
"The media needs to band together to stop placating this insanity. Or we will lose what America stands for," she added.
National Press Club President Mark Schoeff Jr. said in part in a lengthy statement posted to X, "President Trump is continuing his relentless and disturbing effort to bully the news media. This simply can’t happen in a democracy that has depended on a free and independent press to cover the country’s leaders for 250 years."
"The message today’s action sends is alarming. It tells other news organizations to soften their coverage. It tells reporters to think twice before asking difficult questions, or else lose access. And it leaves the American people knowing less about the government that serves them," the statement concluded.
Jacqui Heinrich, White House Correspondents' Association President, said in a statement, "The president said it plainly in the Oval Office, describing his own planned action as a 'ban on the free press.' The Constitution protects the freedom of the press from government interference. That protection does not depend on whether the president likes a news organization’s coverage, agrees with its reporting, or approves of the questions its journalists ask."
"This is about more than the rights of journalists. It is about the right of the American people to receive a full and independent account of the activities, policies and decisions of whoever occupies the nation’s highest office," Heinrich added. "The WHCA stands in defense of our colleagues at CNN, MSNOW, and Politico who are being singled out for doing their jobs."
David Axelrod, former adviser to President Barack Obama, said on X that no court will allow Trump's ban to stand.
"It's a flagrant violation of the Constitution. More likely this is another attempt to divert attention from the war, runaway prices and a collapse of faith in the @POTUS's policies, weeks before a national election," Axelrod added. In a separate post on X, he said that from here on out until Election Day, Trump will likely be "lighting fireworks" in an effort to "try and change the subject."
Trump's Pentagon Media Policy
The Trump Administration also attempted to enact parts of a media policy that limited reporters’ access to the Department of Defense.
The Pentagon and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were sued by The Times over the credentialing changes they said violated reporters’ constitutional rights to due process and free speech. Earlier this year, a federal judge ultimately sided with The Times.
In a statement to X, Hegseth reacted to Trump's announcement on Friday, saying, "The Department of War fully supports President Trump’s decision to kick CNN, MSN̶B̶C̶NOW and Politico to the curb so they can publish their Fake News from outside the White House. We are grateful these outlets already chose to self-deport from the Pentagon. They endangered our troops with false stories, leaks, and trafficked in fiction and lies about the President, our Warriors, and their mission."
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Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Samantha Beech, Gray R. Thomas and Anthony Murray.
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