President Donald Trump said Friday he is “banning” CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House “effective immediately,” citing what he called “fake news,” though there was no sign the administration had carried out the threat.
CNN reporters remained in their White House workspace into Friday evening, and a CNN crew continued traveling as the assigned television pool with Vice President JD Vance. Trump did not identify any specific stories that prompted the announcement or describe concrete steps to exclude the outlets.
Leading First Amendment organizations said any such ban would be unconstitutional. “A ban like this would be flatly unconstitutional,” said Bruce D. Brown, president of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. “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.”
Aaron Terr of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression said press credentials “aren’t a reward for loyalty to the government” and that “a free, even adversarial, press is a sign of our country’s strength.”
CNN said it “stands fully behind our White House team and their fair and accurate reporting” and called any ban “an illegal assault” on a constitutionally protected right. Politico said it would “continue to fairly report on this White House and future ones” and “vigorously defend our First Amendment rights.”
Trump posted on Truth Social around 3 p.m. Eastern that the ban was “a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!” He wrote that media outlets “shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES” about the president, his administration or the country, and added: “Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow.”
About an hour later in the Oval Office, he told reporters he would justify the move “because they’re fake news.” He said, “Something is wrong with a country that can allow people to write purposely negative stories,” and added, “If they want to write them, that’s fine. I don’t have to let them into the people’s house.”
Asked what the ban would entail, Trump said: “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.” He suggested it could be lifted if the outlets “could straighten themselves out” and produce more favorable coverage. He also threatened other organizations, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, which he called “crummy.”
When asked why he announced the ban Friday, Trump said, “No reason.”