By Jacob Bogage and David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, Sept 18 (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump said on Friday he is banning three major news outlets – CNN, MS NOW and Politico – from the White House in his latest threat to the independent press.
The move is almost certain to face legal challenges as free speech experts said it conflicts with the US Constitution’s First Amendment protections for free speech and a free press.
Trump accused the outlets of “reporting FAKE NEWS” in a social media post, and said they “shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States.” Trump added, “Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow.”
Representatives of all three outlets could be seen working in the White House on Friday afternoon following Trump’s post.
Trump said there was no specific incident that prompted the ban, telling reporters in the Oval Office, “It’s really just cumulative stories over the past few years.”
Trump added, “I don’t have to let them into my, into the people’s house.”
When asked what he meant by others “to follow,” Trump mentioned the New York Times and Washington Post as what he called “fake news.”
The extent of the ban announced by Trump was not immediately clear, and the legality of any move could depend on its scope.
Courts have given presidents broad discretion over selective access to events such as Oval Office meetings and small press pools, while broader exclusions from generally available White House press facilities or credentials could face stronger challenges under the First Amendment and constitutional protections for due process.
Trump’s move came weeks ahead of the November 3 midterm elections in which Trump’s fellow Republicans are defending narrow majorities in Congress. Reuters/Ipsos polls show the public souring on Republicans, as Trump’s own approval ratings stand near historic lows amid the deeply unpopular Iran war he kicked off that has sent energy prices soaring.
DECADES OF TRADITION
The Trump administration has upended decades of tradition in dealings between the White House and press, cutting back the access many major news organizations have had to the president while elevating the presence of new media outlets seen as more sympathetic to the administration.
CNN in a statement said it stands behind its journalists who cover the White House.
“We have a right under the US Constitution to do that reporting without hindrance or interference from the government,” CNN said in a statement. “Should the ban which President Trump threatened go ahead, it would be an illegal assault on that fundamental and constitutionally protected right.”
Politico said on X that 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,” Politico said.
MS NOW declined to comment.
“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, chief of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, said in a statement.
Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said the First Amendment prohibits the president from punishing journalists because he does not like their coverage.
“If President Trump means to expel these news organizations from the White House press pool, his action is doubly unconstitutional because the press pool is a ‘public forum’ under the First Amendment, which means the president can’t exclude journalists from it on the basis of their viewpoints,” Jaffer said in a statement.
TABLOID HISTORY
Trump rose to fame as a New York developer skilled in getting the city’s tabloid newspapers to cover his social life, and went on to build his profile as a reality television personality before making a serious push into politics.
Since his successful 2016 campaign, Trump has regularly criticized the press, stepping up his complaints during his second term in office. He has repeatedly urged broadcasters to drop comedy or news programs he dislikes or which have joked about or criticized him or his administration, calling on the Federal Communications Commission to strip disfavored broadcast stations of their licenses.
Trump has filed several lawsuits against the press, including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the BBC and the Des Moines Register. The suits can have a chilling effect. His defamation suits against ABC and CBS were settled for $15 million and $16 million, respectively.
In his first term, Trump’s White House sought to revoke or suspend the credentials of Playboy correspondent Brian Karem and CNN’s Jim Acosta, but federal judges ordered their White House press passes restored.
Since returning to the presidency in January 2025, Trump has openly badgered reporters, particularly from US television networks.
Last year, he also banned the Associated Press from the usual pool of reporters that cover his movements because the news agency did not adopt Trump’s preferred name for the Gulf of Mexico, which Trump has instructed executive branch employees to refer to as the Gulf of America.
(Reporting by Jacob Bogage and David Shepardson; additional reporting by Steve Holland, Jack Queen, Humeyra Pamuk, Edmund Lee, Jasper Ward, Doina Chiacu and Kanishka Singh; Writing by Jonathan Allen and Daniel Trotta; Editing by Caitlin Webber, Scott Malone and Will Dunham)
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