White House Blocks CNN from Traveling on Air Force One Amid Tensions
TL/DR –
The White House stopped CNN from traveling on Air Force One, hindering its press coverage responsibilities. This comes a week after President Trump revoked White House access for CNN, MS Now, and Politico due to unfavorable reports about his presidency. A US district judge ruled in favor of the outlets, ordering the Trump administration to restore their White House access, but CNN’s editorial team and an MS Now reporter were later blocked from covering a state dinner.
CNN was disallowed to board Air Force One by the White House, disrupting its TV press pool commitments and marking another milestone in the administration’s ongoing feud with the media. The network was to accompany Donald Trump to a college football game in Tennessee according to Friday’s schedule, which the White House did not include in its media guidance.
CNN’s exclusion was first reported by the Washington Post. The White House was unreachable for comment by the Guardian.
This comes after Trump’s recent revocation of White House access for CNN, MS Now, and Politico due to negative presidency coverage.
Following this, Trump promised further action against other outlets disseminating “FICTION and LIES” on Truth Social.
The unprecedented step caused a swift reaction from the White House press pool, suspending their Trump coverage in protest.
The press pool, a rotating set of journalists assigned to cover presidential travel, share written and multimedia reports to other outlets. Since Trump’s second administration in 2025, the White House has chosen which outlets participate in the pool each day, a task formerly done by the White House Correspondents’ Association.
A joint statement from the White House television pool highlighted the public’s “vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government”, opposing the restriction of a news organization due to its reporting.
CNN, MS Now, and Politico countered the White House ban as a first amendment violation in a lawsuit.
Yet, the Department of Justice’s attorneys suggested the ban was for national security, citing media reports containing “sensitive” and “classified” data.
US district judge Timothy Kelly ruled in favor of the outlets, demanding the Trump administration to grant them White House access again.
Despite this, journalists from CNN, MS Now, and Politico were initially denied entry into the White House on Thursday morning.
At the state dinner celebrating Chinese president Xi Jinping’s visit, CNN’s editorial team and an MS Now reporter were barred from coverage.
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