Trump Moves to Bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico From White House Briefings

President Donald Trump said Friday that he would bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, accusing the three news organizations of publishing what he called false and fabricated reports about his administration.

The move immediately raised constitutional questions and is likely to face legal challenges. The First Amendment protects freedom of speech and of the press, while courts have allowed presidents considerable discretion over access to limited events and tightly controlled press settings.

Trump announced the decision in a social media post, saying the three outlets “shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES” while covering the president. He added that other news organizations could face similar restrictions.

The White House was expected to notify the three outlets that they would be barred from the grounds beginning Saturday, according to Fox News, which cited an unnamed senior White House official. Reporters from all three organizations were still working at the White House Friday afternoon.

Trump said the decision was not prompted by a particular report or incident. “It’s really just cumulative stories over the past few years,” he told reporters in the Oval Office. “I don’t have to let them into my, into the people’s house.”

Asked which other organizations might be targeted, Trump cited The New York Times and The Washington Post, both of which he has frequently criticized.

First Amendment Questions

The precise scope of the proposed restrictions remained unclear Friday, an important distinction in determining their legality. The administration could have broader authority to control access to individual events, such as Oval Office meetings or small press pools. A broader exclusion from generally available White House press facilities or credentials would raise more serious constitutional questions.

The White House has already reshaped the traditional relationship between presidents and the news media during Trump’s second term, reducing access for some established news organizations while giving greater visibility to newer outlets viewed as more sympathetic to the administration.

CNN said it would defend its journalists and constitutional right to report from the White House.

“We have a right under the US Constitution to do that reporting without hindrance or interference from the government,” the network said.

Politico said it would continue covering the administration and would defend its First Amendment rights against any attempt to restrict its reporting. MS NOW declined to comment. Its parent, Poynter’s senior media writer Tom Jones outlined the gravity of the decision in The Poynter Report newsletter.

Highlighting the strategic role that the White House press pool plays in national news delivery, explaining, Jones noted that the press pool provides “essential, close-up access to the president during events where the full press corps cannot fit.”

Press-freedom groups said the proposed ban would amount to government retaliation for unfavorable coverage.

“It’s 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,” Seth Stern of the Freedom of the Press Foundation said.

Jameel Jaffer, executive director of Columbia University’s Knight First Amendment Institute, said the Constitution bars the president from punishing journalists because of their reporting. He said excluding organizations from the White House press pool on the basis of their viewpoints could create an additional constitutional problem.

A Long Conflict With the Press

Trump’s confrontation with the news media predates his presidency. As a New York real-estate developer and television personality, he cultivated relationships with tabloid publications before turning increasingly hostile toward major news organizations during his political career.

During his first term, his administration attempted to revoke or suspend the White House credentials of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta and Playboy correspondent Brian Karem. Federal judges ordered Acosta’s press access restored.

Since returning to office in January 2025, Trump has continued to attack news organizations and individual journalists, while urging regulators to take action against broadcasters whose coverage or programming he dislikes.

The administration also barred The Associated Press from the White House press pool after the organization declined to adopt Trump’s preferred name, “Gulf of America,” for the Gulf of Mexico.

Trump has separately pursued legal action against several media organizations, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, the BBC and The Des Moines Register. Defamation lawsuits against ABC and CBS ended in settlements.

The latest threat comes less than two months before the November 3 midterm elections, when Republicans are defending narrow majorities in Congress. The White House’s decision to restrict access for several major news organizations could now put the administration on a collision course with the courts over the limits of presidential control over the press.