Trump targets more news outlets, saying he will ban CNN, MS NOW and
Politico from the White House
[September 19, 2026]
By JOCELYN NOVECK
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday that he was barring
CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House due to what he called
unfavorable coverage and “fake news,” and threatened that more such
media bans could be coming — the latest salvo in the president's
increasingly aggressive response to media coverage he finds unfavorable.
Like many of Trump's other confrontations with news organizations — some
of which are playing out in the legal arena — this threat has potential
First Amendment implications. There was no immediate indication, though,
that he was following through.
Trump wrote on his social media site that effective immediately, “I am
banning” CNN, MS NOW and Politico “from the White House as a result of
their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!” Minutes later, speaking at an
event in the Oval Office, Trump was asked to explain his statement.
“Because they’re fake news,” he said. “You get so tired of reading and
seeing fake news. When you look at CNN, it’s just fake. That’s why their
ratings are no good. When you look at MS NOW … , it’s fake news.”
“And when you look at Politico ... the stories they wrote are fake. So
there’s a lot of news and there may be others to join them, and maybe
they can get better," he said. "But our country has to have honest
news.”
He gave no further details on how the ban would be implemented.
Journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were still on the White House
grounds as of late Friday afternoon with no signs of being removed.
CNN denounced the move, saying it stands behind its 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,” it said in a
statement posted on X. “Should the ban which President Trump threatened
go ahead, it would be an illegal assault on that fundamental and
constitutionally-protected right.”
Politico said it would “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.” MS NOW did not immediately return
an email asking about the ban.
The White House has confronted the media more in Trump's second term
In his second term, Trump and his administration have upped the ante and
punished certain media outlets, both in the courtroom and through
regulatory action. Trump has also lashed out at individual reporters in
person or over social media, sometimes in strikingly personal terms.
The move follows the president's decision last year to bar Associated
Press reporters from the Oval Office, Air Force One and other events in
retaliation for the news outlet’s decision not to follow his lead in
changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico, which lies partially in Mexican
and other waters. The AP said that it would note when appropriate that
Trump had ordered it renamed the "Gulf of America."
The AP filed suit and the case is ongoing. Since returning to office,
Trump has pursued other legal action against a variety of different
outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the
BBC. His administration is also involved in a long-simmering
confrontation involving ABC over renewal of its broadcast licenses.
Trump seeking to block White House access for CNN is especially notable,
as it could upend the traditional five-network television pool that
travels with the president and tracks his every move — meant to provide
independent coverage of his actions and interactions for the Americans
who elected him and for the world. CNN was traveling with the vice
president on Friday to Iowa.
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President Donald Trump speaks about healthcare in the Oval Office of
the White House, Friday Sept. 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP
Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
The National Press Club was one of several groups immediately
criticizing Trump's threatened action. “Banning news organizations
from the White House based on the administration’s disapproval of
their coverage is a clear attempt to control which voices are
allowed to witness and report on the exercise of presidential
power,” said the group's president, Mark Schoeff.
In legal terms, that's called “viewpoint discrimination” — the
government singling out specific media outlets for the content of
what they say or publish. That legal principle is at issue in many
of the court cases around Trump's treatment of the media,.
“Someone needs to explain to President Trump how the First Amendment
works,” said Tim Richardson, journalism and disinformation director
at PEN America. “As we’ve seen time and time again, this
administration’s hostility toward the press is never about the
accuracy of news stories, but about its inability to withstand
scrutiny of its actions."
And Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at Freedom of the Press
Foundation, said it was “difficult to imagine a more blatant
violation of the First Amendment than Trump banning news outlets
from the People’s House for criticizing the government.”
He added: "These outrageous attacks only demonstrate how scared he
is of an informed public.”
Trump provided no details
In his social media announcement, Trump did not provide details on
how the ban would be implemented.
It came moments before he spoke to reporters in the Oval Office as
part of a health care event. He later planned to take the press pool
to his golf club in Virginia for a meeting and dinner sponsored by
his Super PAC before spending the weekend at Camp David — one of the
few places reporters don’t follow him.
“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,”
Trump wrote. “Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow.”
At the event, Trump doubled down on his opinions about various media
outlets.
"The New York Times is so fake. Washington Post is disgusting,” he
said.
Trump's defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, applauded the decision in a
post on X. “The Department of War fully supports President Trump’s
decision to kick CNN, MS NOW and Politico to the curb so they can
publish their Fake News from outside the White House,” Hegseth
wrote.
In the 1977 case Sherrill v. Knight, a federal appeals court ruled
that although the White House is not required to open its doors to
the news media, once it establishes press facilities for
credentialed journalists, it cannot deny access based on the content
of a journalist’s coverage.
The court held that any denial must serve a compelling government
interest and that the journalist must receive notice, the chance to
respond and a final answer in writing.
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