Trump says he’s ‘banning’ CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House

By Brian Stelter, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump claimed Friday that he is “banning” CNN, MS NOW and Politico “from the White House.” He said it was “effective immediately,” but there was no indication his administration had taken steps to follow through.

CNN reporters remained seated in their White House workspace near the briefing room as of this writing. A CNN team was also traveling Friday as the assigned television pool reporters with Vice President JD Vance.

“CNN stands fully behind our White House team and their fair and accurate reporting. We have a right under the U.S. Constitution to do that reporting without hindrance or interference from the government,” the network said in a statement. “Should the ban which President Trump threatened go ahead, it would be an illegal assault on that fundamental and constitutionally-protected right.”

“POLITICO will continue to fairly report on this White House and future ones. We will vigorously defend our First Amendment rights against any attempt to restrict them,” the outlet said in a statement. MS NOW had no immediate comment on the president’s claim.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that the “banning” was “a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!”

“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 continued. “Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow.”

Trump said Friday in the Oval Office that he would justify banning three news organizations from the White House, despite the First Amendment, “because they’re fake news.”

“Something is wrong with a country that can allow people to write purposely negative stories,” the president said. “If they want to write them, that’s fine. I don’t have to let them into the people’s house.”

Asked for comment on the president’s post, the White House Press Office referred to those remarks.

Trump also hinted that he could ban more news organizations. “There may be others to join them,” he said, at one point citing The New York Times and The Washington Post, calling both newspapers “crummy.”

The president did not specify any action taken to ban the outlets from the White House, nor did he identify any specific reporting that prompted his social media declaration. “No reason,” he said when asked why he announced it Friday.

Asked what the ban would look like, Trump offered few specifics: “It’s a very simple ban. I don’t want them in my office. I don’t want them here. I would say the ban would go as far as you can,” the president said.

Trump added that the ban could be lifted if the targeted outlets “could straighten themselves out” and publish more favorable coverage.

Trump has previously restricted CNN’s access to the White House.

During Trump’s first term, the White House revoked the press credentials of CNN’s then-chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta following a contentious exchange with the president at a November 2018 press conference.

CNN sued, and a Trump-appointed federal judge temporarily restored Acosta’s press access, ruling that the White House had violated his due process. The White House eventually reinstated Acosta’s credentials on a permanent basis, prompting CNN to drop its lawsuit.

The president’s declaration on Friday drew condemnation from press freedom advocates.

“A ban like this would be flatly unconstitutional. The First Amendment is clear that once the White House invites in some journalists, it can’t ban others because it doesn’t like their reporting,” Bruce D. Brown, president of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said in a statement. “This is textbook viewpoint discrimination and will be quickly struck down by the courts if challenged.”

“Press credentials aren’t a reward for loyalty to the government,” Aaron Terr, the public advocacy director at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, told CNN. “A free, even adversarial, press is a sign of our country’s strength.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also condemned the announcement, writing on social media: “Donald Trump just did what dictators throughout history have done. This is a democracy. You will not be able to manipulate the news or hide the truth.”

The-CNN-Wire
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