By Nicole Winfield
ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE — Pope Leo XIV told reporters they were welcome to cover him, as he responded to the Trump administration’s attempt to bar U.S. media from the White House and affirmed the importance of journalists covering public figures.
Leo spoke to reporters Friday on his way to France for a four-day visit. Asked by a CNN reporter about the Trump administration’s attempt to bar CNN and other reporters, Leo said the media was welcome on his plane.
“I am very happy that here, you are all welcome,” he said. Good media coverage is important, he said, and equally important “that we have it all the way around, for everyone”
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CNN, MS NOW and Politico were back at the White House on Thursday after a judge handed them a reprieve from President Donald Trump’s ban, but the extraordinary showdown between him and outlets whose coverage he dislikes continued.
On a high-profile day when Chinese leader Xi Jinping was visiting Washington and attending a state dinner, no major American network was airing live coverage, and both CNN and MS NOW said their journalists were denied access to Xi’s state dinner arrival.
Leo has long affirmed the need for free and independent press, a point he made in one of his first audiences as pope. Speaking to journalists who covered the 2025 conclave that elected him, the American pope called for the release of imprisoned journalists and affirmed the “precious gift of free speech and the press.”
That said, since the COVID-19 pandemic, independent media have been prevented from covering photo opportunities inside the pope’s private studio when visiting heads of state visit. Additionally, many of the pope’s private audiences with other groups and individuals are closed to non-Vatican press.
Leo Had Opposed Trump on the War
Leo’s airborne comments about Trump followed his April back-and-forth over the American president’s criticism of his opposition to the Iran war. The American pope’s position won him points with some Europeans opposed to Trump’s policies.
“He dared, at his level, to oppose the American president,” said retiree Thierry Marien, who lined up hours early to grab a spot on the popemobile route to Notre-Dame cathedral, where Leo was to celebrate vespers later Friday. “Not because he is opposed to the American president but because he’s opposed to countries where we can see there’s a risk of their political systems becoming a bit more dictatorial and there are already enough of those in the world.”
“I appreciated that he did that. He could quite easily have said to himself, ‘In my situation, I won’t criticize any heads of state,’” he said.
Leo Apologizes to Reporters
Also on the flight Friday, Leo also apologized for missing an opportunity to speak with the press the last time he traveled internationally, when his Iberia charter broke down in Spain’s Canary Islands and he returned home solo on the king’s private jet, skipping his traditional airborne press conference.
More than 70 reporters and the Vatican delegation waited for several hours at the airport for a replacement plane to arrive. Leo addressed the media’s disappointment when he came to the back of the plane to greet reporters.
“A special mention I would like to make for those of you who were traveling with me when we returned to Rome from Spain,” he said. “I want to apologize personally for an incident, that I had nothing to do with, but which I know left a number of you unhappy with the fact that we couldn’t have the flight back together back to Rome.”
In other comments to reporters, Leo said he believed his alma mater Villanova would be the fan favorite when the Augustinian university plays Notre Dame’s basketball team in Rome on Nov. 1.
“They tell me that the people coming to the match, 90% are Villanova and 10% Notre Dame, so the voice of the people of God will be very strong on the Villanova side,” Leo said.
Associated Press writer John Leicester in Paris contributed to this report.
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