Trump says CNN, MS NOW, Politico banned from White House

WASHINGTON - President Trump said Friday he was banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, a move sure to draw fierce pushback from D.C.’s press corps.

Trump said in a Truth Social post the ban would be “effective immediately” for those outlets, “as a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!” He suggested more outlets would be banned in the future.

Trump said there was no particular reason for the timing of the ban, when asked about it in the Oval Office on Friday afternoon. “It’s really just cumulative stories over the last two years. You get sick of it,” he told reporters during an event focused on health care.

Asked if the move was likely to survive a legal challenge, Trump said it depends on the judge handling the case.

The president has long criticized CNN over its coverage of him and spoken openly about his desire to see the network’s parent company sell the cable channel to ally media mogul Larry Ellison.

He has sued the network in the past and specifically targeted Kaitlan Collins, one of the network’s top journalists, over her questioning of him in the Oval Office.

A CNN spokesperson released a statement on Trump’s decision, saying, “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,” the spokesperson continued. “Should the ban which President Trump threatened go ahead, it would be an illegal assault on that fundamental and constitutionally-protected right.”

MS Now declined to comment.

“POLITICO will 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,” a spokesperson for the outlet said. “The claims that POLITICO received government subsidies are false and have been thoroughly debunked.”

Trump also has a history of attacking conservative media outlets he feels are not sufficiently loyal to him.

He sued the Wall Street Journal last year over its reporting on his alleged ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and regularly blasts polls and political commentary on Fox News, also owned by conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

The Associated Press sued the administration after the president attempted to ban the wire service from certain White House spaces over its refusal to change its stylebook on “Gulf of America.”

The National Press Club, in a statement of its own, said, “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.”

As of late Friday afternoon, journalists for all three outlets were apparently still credentialed to work at the White House. (Source: The Hill)