President Donald Trump insisted that he loves “an open, free press” Saturday, as the White House instituted new restrictions on CNN.
The White House barred CNN from traveling with Trump on Air Force One for his trip to Tennessee despite the network’s duties to cover the event on behalf of broadcast outlets.
White House guidance sent overnight removed CNN from the TV pool, the group of journalists who travel with Trump daily to broadcast video and audio from his events. CNN had been scheduled to cover Trump’s appearance at a college football game between the University of Texas and the University of Tennessee, the network said.
The action signals the latest White House attempt to restrict access to news outlets that it says reports “fake news.” CNN, MS Now and Politico sued the Trump administration on Monday after the president banned the three outlets from the White House on Sept. 18.
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The White House said in court filings that the three outlets were banned over national security concerns, but U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly said Thursday that the government had not provided sufficient evidence to justify that reasoning. Kelly then ordered the administration to temporarily restore the outlets’ access.
“Fake news should not be allowed in the White House!!!” Trump wrote Saturday on Truth Social. “It has gone on far too long, at a tremendous cost to our country.”
Trump told reporters Saturday that he wanted “real news.”
“What I don’t like is the fake press where a group like CNN, few people watch it, or MSDNC, which they changed I guess to NOW,” he told MS NOW’s Akayla Gardner when asked if he only wants coverage from outlets that openly support his presidency.
During the ban, television networks Fox, NBC, ABC and CBS declined to participate in the pool as a show of solidarity. Trump’s press events were subsequently impacted by technical difficulties without the infrastructure provided by the major TV networks.
Reporters for CNN, MS Now and Politico returned to the White House on Thursday. It’s unclear whether they will continue to be denied access to the pool.
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