President Donald Trump announced he will immediately ban media outlets CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, accusing the organizations of publishing “constant” false reports.
“Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States,” he wrote Friday afternoon on Truth Social. “Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow.”
Trump’s post did not include additional details. When reporters later asked about how the ban would work in practice, the president said it would be “a very simple ban. I don’t want them in my office, I don’t want them here.”
Trump said the ban had stemmed from “just cumulative stories over the last few years” in which reporters “purposefully write negative news” about the administration.
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“You need a free press, you need a fair press and an honest press,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office an hour after his initial announcement.
The president also suggested he could ban other outlets, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, which he said will “probably not” be on display anymore in the White House.
The White House referred The Washington Sun to Trump’s comments in the Oval Office when asked for additional details.
“CNN stands fully behind our White House team and their fair and accurate reporting,” the outlet said in a statement. “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.”
Trump has had a contentious history with prohibiting media access to his administration, issuing wide orders and subpoenas to individual reporters that have resulted in multiple legal challenges over the last two years. The White House barred reporters from unescorted access to the West Wing press office last year and revoked The Associated Press from covering presidential events, an order that was reversed when the outlet challenged the decision in federal court.
The Pentagon in June deemed its press office a “classified space” to restrict journalist access, following a 2025 crackdown on defense reporters meant to curb leaks, after which many turned in their press credentials in protest.
In his Truth Social post, the president characterized Politico as the recipient “of an illegal and ridiculous $8 Million Dollar subscription” that he deemed “corruption.” In February 2025, the White House canceled $8 million in Politico subscriptions and products paid for across multiple federal agencies, saying the move was part of a wider effort to stop wasteful government spending.
“The claims that POLITICO received government subsidies are false and have been thoroughly debunked,” the outlet wrote in a statement, saying it will “vigorously defend” its First Amendment rights.
The president’s announcement came two days after Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-North Carolina) said some members of Congress want to bar reporters from the Speaker’s Lobby, a crucial area off the House floor for journalists to question lawmakers.
White House Correspondents’ Association President Jacqui Heinrich said in a statement that the organization was standing in defense of colleagues at CNN, MS NOW and Politico who are “being singled out for doing their jobs.”
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