What To Know
- The White House barred journalists from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from entering on Saturday after President Trump accused them of “fake news” and announced a ban.
- The affected news organizations condemned the move as an unconstitutional attack on press freedom and vowed to continue their reporting and defend their First Amendment rights.
- The ban was widely criticized by lawmakers and free-press advocates, who argued it represents an authoritarian overreach and violates constitutional protections for the media.
The White House denied access to journalists from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico on Saturday, September 19, according to statements from the news organizations. The action came a day after President Donald Trump announced he was banning those organizations from the White House, accusing their teams of reporting “fake news.”
CNN announced the ban had gone into effect on Saturday morning. “Early today, CNN journalists were denied access to the White House grounds,” the network said in a statement. “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. 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.”
MS NOW said its journalists had been denied access to the White House on Saturday as well. “The White House belongs to the American people and the decisions made inside are funded by our tax dollars,” the network added in its statement. “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. We stand firmly behind our anchors, our reporters, and our newsroom. We will continue to report on the President, the administration, and the issues that impact the American people.”
A Politico journalist was also stopped from entering the White House on Saturday, as Jonathan Greenberger, Politico’s global editor in chief, wrote in an email to the newsroom. “A few minutes ago, our colleague Cheyenne Haslett attempted to enter the White House to do her job as a Politico reporter. Secret Service denied her entry to the complex and confiscated the pass that allows her access to the White House,” Greenberger said. “We stand by her and all reporters here covering the White House. As we said yesterday, we will vigorously defend our First Amendment rights.”
In a Truth Social post on Friday, Trump said he would be banning the three news organizations “as a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!”
He continued, “Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America. Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow.”
Talking to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, Trump said the ban was not the result of a single report but instead the result of “cumulative stories over the last few years.” Without citing proof, Trump also accused the three news organizations of intentionally publishing negative stories about his administration and the Republican Party, according to MS NOW.
Trump’s ban drew condemnation from legislators and free-press advocates. “It’s very clear that Donald Trump is running the United States like a state-run, controlled authoritarian government,” Rep. Melanie Stansbury, a Democrat from New Mexico, said on The Weekend on Saturday. “To deny access to a media outlet because you don’t like their coverage, you don’t like what they’re reporting on, is not only a violation of the Constitution and the First Amendment rights of our media. It is a scary overstep.”
And Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said the ban would violate free speech protections. “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,” Jaffer added.