Trump Says CNN, MS NOW, Politico Barred From White House Access - Newsweek
President Donald Trump said Friday he was banning three major media outlets from the White House, returning to his long-running branding of legacy media outlets as "fake news."
In a post on Truth Social, the president said the three outlets—CNN, Politico, and MS NOW—would not be permitted at the White House, "as a result of their constant 'reporting' FAKE NEWS!"
"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."
In a statement to Newsweek, a CNN spokesperson said: "CNN stands fully behind our 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. 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 intended to "fairly report" on Trump, as well as future White House administrations.
"We will vigorously defend our First Amendment rights against any attempt to restrict them," the outlet told Newsweek in a statement. "The claims that Politico received government subsidies are false and have been thoroughly debunked."
MS NOW had no immediate comment, a representative told Newsweek late Friday.
The president's announcement sparked criticism, including from Seth Stern, the chief of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, who said in a statement shared with Newsweek that it was "difficult to imagine a more blatant violation of the First Amendment than Trump banning news outlets from the People’s House for reporting critically on the government.
"It’s also hard to imagine a dumber move. The historically unpopular president has been retaliating against the press for years, but it hasn’t helped him," Stern said. "Journalists keep exposing his corruption and his failures. These outrageous attacks only demonstrate how scared he is of an informed public."
The president has long railed against legacy media, particularly the outlets which are more left-leaning, and has frequently branded stories he disagrees with as "fake news." While that messaging dominated his 2016 campaign and first term, focusing on what Trump viewed as fabricated stories, the slogan has somewhat transformed to focus on outlets Trump disagrees with.
In August 2025, Trump did call for "fake news" outlets to lose their FCC licenses, seeking to cut off their broadcasting altogether. He has also targeted specific reporters in recent years, including CNN's Kaitlan Collins during the White House correspondents' dinner, and ABC's Rachel Scott during a press gaggle on the tarmac on September 11.
Media experts and press freedom advocates have argued that Trump's strategy does more than criticize individual stories; by repeatedly branding established journalism as "fake news," he is encouraging his supporters to distrust institutions that have long upheld the values of independent verification.
Trump and his supporters, meanwhile, have argued the phrase highlights genuine media bias, selective reporting, and inaccurate journalism. The second Trump White House has also sought to publicly shame reporters and outlets through a dedicated webpage called "media offenders."
Ari Fleischer, the former Press Secretary to President Goerge W. Bush, took to X Friday to say he agreed with Trump that several outlets were biased and unfair.
"Banning them from the WH is not the solution," he said. "Open the pool and the briefing room to conservatives. Challenge liberal reporters. Argue and defeat them. Don’t ban them. Or one day they’ll ban us."
Speaking on CNN Friday afternoon, the outlet's media correspondent Brian Stelter said there was "no indication that he's actually followed through," and that they should give it a few hours to see what happens.
"Certainly, if there is an attempt to remove journalists from the White House, well, our cameras are rolling," he said. "I think viewers will see it happen."
Debate will likely center on whether the president is legally allowed to make this move, with the potential for legal action.
"If the administration actually implements this announcement by stripping credentials or categorically barring CNN, MS NOW and Politico from press events because of their reporting, I would expect immediate First Amendment challenges and requests for emergency injunctive relief," former Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg told Newsweek.
The former president of the White House Correspondents Association, Weijia Jiang, took to X to share the text of the First Amendment, but attorney Alan Derschowitz told Newsweek he saw no First Amendment issue.
"All presidents have excluded first amendment protected media from access to the [White House] based on political viewpoints: communist, fascist, racist, etc.," he said. "This is different only because it covers mainstream media. That doesn’t seem to rise to the level of a constitutional violation. If it did, the [White House] would have to admit all constitutionally protected media. Or use non viewpoint criteria for exclusion, such as size, etc."
Stern said the press needed to keep fighting to protect their rights, not just to access the White House, but also to access public records.
"In the meantime, though, they can take a break from getting lied to and insulted at the White House," he said. "There are plenty of places to find news, and reporters will continue to do just that no matter how many tantrums Trump throws on Truth Social. Just like he can’t keep his name on the Kennedy Center, he can’t keep it out of the headlines."
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Gabe Whisnant and Sam Wilson.
