Trump says he’s ‘banning’ CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House

(CNN) — President Donald Trump claimed Friday afternoon that he is “banning” CNN, MS NOW and Politico “from the White House.” He said it was “effective immediately,” but there was no indication his administration had taken steps to follow through.

CNN reporters remained in their White House workspace into Friday evening. A CNN team was also traveling Friday as the assigned television pool reporters with Vice President JD Vance.

The country’s leading First Amendment groups said that if Trump tries to implement a ban, it would be unconstitutional and rejected by the courts.

The newsrooms targeted by Trump echoed that sentiment.

“CNN stands fully behind our White House team and their fair and accurate reporting. We have a right under the U.S. Constitution to do that reporting without hindrance or interference from the government,” the network said in a statement. “Should the ban which President Trump threatened go ahead, it would be an illegal assault on that fundamental and constitutionally-protected right.”

“POLITICO will continue to fairly report on this White House and future ones. We will vigorously defend our First Amendment rights against any attempt to restrict them,” the outlet said in a statement. MS NOW had no immediate comment on the president’s post.

Trump wrote on Truth Social around 3 p.m. Eastern that the “banning” was “a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!”

“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,” he continued. “Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow.”

About an hour later, during an Oval Office press event, Trump was questioned by a group of White House reporters about how he would justify banning three news organizations. “Because they’re fake news,” he said.

“Something is wrong with a country that can allow people to write purposely negative stories,” the president continued. “If they want to write them, that’s fine. I don’t have to let them into the people’s house.”

Asked for comment on Trump’s post, the White House Press Office referred to those remarks.

Trump also threatened to ban other news organizations. “There may be others to join them,” he said, at one point citing The New York Times and The Washington Post, calling both newspapers “crummy.”

The president did not specify any action taken to ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, nor did he identify any specific reporting that prompted his social media declaration. “No reason,” he said when asked why he announced it Friday.

Asked what the ban would look like, Trump offered few specifics: “It’s a very simple ban. I don’t want them in my office. I don’t want them here. I would say the ban would go as far as you can,” the president said.

Trump added that the ban could be lifted if the targeted outlets “could straighten themselves out” and publish more favorable coverage.

“A ban like this would be flatly unconstitutional,” Bruce D. Brown, president of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, told CNN in a statement. “The First Amendment is clear that once the White House invites in some journalists, it can’t ban others because it doesn’t like their reporting. This is textbook viewpoint discrimination and will be quickly struck down by the courts if challenged.”

“Press credentials aren’t a reward for loyalty to the government,” Aaron Terr, the public advocacy director at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, told CNN. “A free, even adversarial, press is a sign of our country’s strength.”

Numerous Democratic lawmakers also condemned Trump’s announcement, with some likening it to an authoritarian crackdown ahead of the midterm elections.

“Donald Trump just did what dictators throughout history have done,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on social media. “This is a democracy. You will not be able to manipulate the news or hide the truth.”

As Friday afternoon turned to evening, some reporters at the White House were puzzled by the president’s claim, given the lack of follow-up action.

However, Trump has tried to press access.

During Trump’s first term, the White House revoked the press credentials of CNN’s then-chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta following a contentious exchange with the president at a November 2018 press conference.

CNN sued, and a Trump-appointed federal judge temporarily restored Acosta’s press access, ruling that the White House had violated his due process. The White House eventually reinstated Acosta’s credentials on a permanent basis, prompting CNN to drop its lawsuit.

In 2025, the White House briefly banned The Associated Press from the so-called press pool, prompting a legal battle with the news wire.

Reporters and photographers from the AP had their access restored, and the lawsuit is ongoing.

The-CNN-Wire
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