Μake us preferred on Google WASHINGTON—President Trump said on Friday he is banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House over their coverage of his administration.
“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,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
He said the ban would take effect immediately, and he said he planned to ban other outlets in the future.
Asked why he was banning the news outlets, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday afternoon, “It’s really just cumulative stories over the last two years. You get sick of it.” He added of the news outlets, “I don’t want them in my office. I don’t want them here.”
Politico said it would continue to report fairly on the White House and “vigorously defend our First Amendment rights against any attempt to restrict them.” A CNN spokesperson said the network stands behind its White House team. The journalists have a constitutional right to do their reporting “without hindrance or interference from the government,” the spokesperson said, adding that a ban as threatened by Trump would be illegal.
MS Now declined to comment. The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The president’s decision to restrict access to three influential news organizations marked a sharp escalation of his yearslong battle against the press. He regularly criticizes unflattering coverage and has sued multiple outlets—including The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times—for defamation.
Trump banned Associated Press reporters from the Oval Office, Air Force One and press pool events early last year, after the news outlet said it wouldn’t change its style guidance on the Gulf of Mexico to adhere to Trump’s new name, the Gulf of America. The AP sued , and the case is ongoing.
The Trump administration also issued subpoenas for New York Times reporters who worked on stories about security concerns involving a jet gifted to the U.S. by the Qatari government that is being used as Air Force One. The Justice Department later agreed to withdraw the subpoenas.
The Wall Street Journal also received grand jury subpoenas earlier this year for records of Journal reporters. They were also later withdrawn.
The request related to a Feb. 23 article that reported that Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and others at the Pentagon warned the president about the risks of an extended military campaign against Iran. Trump launched the war five days later.
Meanwhile the Pentagon introduced new guidelines restricting press access last year; major media outlets rebuffed the new policy and forfeited their press badges. The New York Times and one of its reporters sued over the limitations; the Pentagon’s revised rules are also the subject of ongoing litigation .
Trump’s White House has exerted more control over which reporters are in the press pool, the rotating group of journalists that cover the president in settings that are too small for the entire press corps. Last year, the White House also took over the seating chart for the press briefing room—which is traditionally determined by the independent White House Correspondents’ Association—and added a “new media” seat.
In November 2018, during his first term, Trump suspended then-CNN correspondent Jim Acosta’s press credential, after the two clashed during a postelection news conference. CNN sued, and the White House restored the press pass soon after.
Write to Brian Schwartz at brian.schwartz@wsj.com and Marianne LeVine at marianne.levine@wsj.com
