Three major news outlets can no longer enter Trump’s White House
WASHINGTON — Journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico have been denied access to the White House after US President Donald Trump followed through on an extraordinary ban against three major news organisations over coverage he considers unfair.
The restrictions were enforced on Saturday, a day after Trump announced that the three outlets were banned “effective immediately” because of what he described as years of “fake news” reporting.
Reporters from the affected organisations said their White House credentials stopped working, while Politico said one of its journalists had her pass confiscated after being denied entry.
Trump has not identified a single report that prompted the decision, instead saying it resulted from the organisations’ cumulative coverage of him and his administration. He accused them of deliberately publishing negative reporting and suggested other news organisations could be next.
The president specifically named The New York Times and The Washington Post when questioned about his warning that further outlets could face restrictions.
CNN described the ban as an illegal interference with constitutionally protected journalism and said it would continue covering the administration. Politico said it would defend its First Amendment rights, while MS NOW said it would take necessary steps to protect its journalists and independence.
The dispute is likely to raise fresh legal questions over whether the government can exclude journalists because of their reporting.
During Trump’s first presidency, the White House attempted to revoke CNN correspondent Jim Acosta’s credentials before dropping the effort after CNN went to court. His current administration has also faced litigation over restrictions imposed on The Associated Press.
The latest action goes considerably further by targeting entire news organisations rather than individual reporters.
Trump maintains that he supports press freedom but argues that journalists should provide what he considers fair and honest coverage. The affected organisations argue that allowing a government to determine access according to whether it approves of reporting strikes directly at independent journalism.
The immediate question is now whether CNN, MS NOW or Politico will take the dispute to court and whether Trump’s warning of additional bans will be carried out.
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