U.S. President Donald Trump says he will bar CNN, MSNBC Now and Politico from White House access immediately after accusing them of “fake news.”
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U.S. President Donald Trump says he is banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House effective immediately, citing what he called “fake news” in a directive published on Truth Social.
The action is described as coming without a detailed explanation of what stories or reporting Trump believes triggered the decision, and the directive does not name specific examples of alleged inaccuracies.
In the Truth Social post, Trump says media outlets should not “constantly write or report fiction and lies” when covering the president, and he adds that other “fake news media outlets” could follow.
The report notes that Trump has frequently criticized the media and has clashed with reporters who challenge his policies, portraying himself as a target of unfair coverage.
Despite the threat, it is not clear from the report whether Trump’s order can be enforced in practice, and it is also not clear whether it could be carried out through formal White House access rules.
CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter discussed the claim on CNN News Central, describing it as “unusual” and saying CNN’s team was still working at the White House as normal at the time of his remarks.
Stelter said there was “no indication” in the report that the administration was taking steps to follow through on Trump’s threat, even while he characterized the matter as potentially serious for press freedom and related constitutional considerations.
Later Friday, Trump addressed reporters in the Oval Office, telling them that “you need a free press,” “a fair press,” and “an honest press,” while being asked whether a specific story prompted the move.
When pressed for whether any particular coverage led to the ban, Trump told reporters the decision was based on cumulative criticism over “the last few years,” saying he gets “sick of it” and arguing that outlets produce negative coverage in order to “diminish Republicans and a Republican administration.”
On the question of whether such a ban would survive a court challenge, Trump appeared to indicate that he believed courts should prevent repeated dissemination of false reporting, while also saying he was not focused on whether a challenge would succeed.
Trump also referred to additional outlets he suggested could be targeted, singling out the New York Times and The Washington Post, describing them as “crumby papers” and saying they were likely to be removed from display in the White House, while indicating they had not yet been thrown out.
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