US President Donald Trump said on Friday he is banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, effective immediately, over their coverage of his administration.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he was expelling the outlets over their “constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!” and warned that more bans could follow. “Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America,” he wrote. “Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow.”
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office later on Friday, Trump said the outlets “purposely write negative news” and attributed the action to their “cumulative” coverage. “You get so tired of reading and seeing fake news,” he said.
A CNN spokesperson said the outlet stood by its reporting and called the move an infringement of constitutional protections. “Should the ban which President Trump threatened go ahead, it would be an illegal assault on that fundamental and constitutionally-protected right,” the spokesperson said. CNN’s team continued working at the White House on Friday afternoon as usual, network reporter Brian Stelter said on air.
The action is expected to be challenged as conflicting with the US Constitution’s First Amendment protections for a free press. Democrat Congressman Frank Pallone, the lead Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, called the move censorship.
Since returning to office in January 2025, Trump has restricted access for major traditional news media. The Associated Press was barred from the pool of reporters covering his movements after it continued to use Gulf of Mexico rather than Trump’s preferred Gulf of America. A separate Pentagon press policy prompted a mass walkout by news outlets that refused to sign it, and a federal judge later ruled the policy unconstitutional.
Trump’s earlier moves against the press included demands that the FCC penalise a broadcast host. He has also pursued legal disputes with outlets including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, ABC News and the BBC.