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By JOCELYN NOVECK
\nUpdated 7:07 PM EDT, September 18, 2026<\/p>\n
NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump<\/a><\/span> said Friday that he was barring CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House due to what he called unfavorable coverage and \u201cfake news,\u201d and threatened that more such media bans could be coming \u2014 the latest salvo in the president\u2019s increasingly aggressive response to media coverage he finds unfavorable.<\/p>\n Like many of Trump\u2019s other confrontations with news organizations \u2014 some of which are playing out in the legal arena \u2014 this threat has potential First Amendment implications. There was no immediate indication, though, that he was following through.<\/p>\n Trump wrote on his social media site that effective immediately, \u201cI am banning\u201d CNN, MS NOW and Politico \u201cfrom the White House as a result of their constant \u2018reporting\u2019 FAKE NEWS!\u201d Minutes later, speaking at an event in the Oval Office, Trump was asked to explain his statement.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause they\u2019re fake news,\u201d he said. \u201cYou get so tired of reading and seeing fake news. When you look at CNN, it\u2019s just fake. That\u2019s why their ratings are no good. When you look at MS NOW \u2026 , it\u2019s fake news.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd when you look at Politico … the stories they wrote are fake. So there\u2019s a lot of news and there may be others to join them, and maybe they can get better,\u201d he said. \u201cBut our country has to have honest news.\u201d<\/p>\n He gave no further details on how the ban would be implemented. Journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were still on the White House grounds as of late Friday afternoon with no signs of being removed.<\/p>\n CNN denounced the move, saying it stands behind its White House team and their \u201cfair and accurate reporting.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a right under the U.S. Constitution to do that reporting without hindrance or interference from the government,\u201d it said in a statement posted on X<\/a><\/span>. \u201cShould the ban which President Trump threatened go ahead, it would be an illegal assault on that fundamental and constitutionally-protected right.\u201d<\/p>\n Politico said it would \u201ccontinue to fairly report on this White House and future ones. We will vigorously defend our First Amendment rights against any attempt to restrict them.\u201d MS NOW did not immediately return an email asking about the ban.The White House has confronted the media more in Trump\u2019s second term.<\/p>\n In his second term, Trump and his administration have upped the ante and punished certain media outlets, both in the courtroom and through regulatory action. Trump has also lashed out at individual reporters in person or over social media, sometimes in strikingly personal terms.<\/p>\n The move follows the president\u2019s decision last year to bar Associated Press reporters from the Oval Office, Air Force One and other events in retaliation for the news outlet\u2019s decision not to follow his lead in changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico, which lies partially in Mexican and other waters. The AP said<\/a><\/span> that it would note when appropriate that Trump had ordered it renamed the \u201cGulf of America.\u201d<\/p>\n The AP filed suit<\/a><\/span> and the case is ongoing. Since returning to office, Trump has pursued other legal action against a variety of different outlets, including The New York Times,<\/a><\/span> The Wall Street Journal and the BBC.<\/a><\/span> His administration is also involved in a long-simmering confrontation involving ABC over renewal of its broadcast licenses.<\/p>\n Trump seeking to block White House access for CNN is especially notable, as it could upend the traditional five-network television pool that travels with the president and tracks his every move \u2014 meant to provide independent coverage of his actions and interactions for the Americans who elected him and for the world. CNN was traveling with the vice president on Friday to Iowa.<\/p>\n The National Press Club was one of several groups immediately criticizing Trump\u2019s threatened action. \u201cBanning news organizations from the White House based on the administration\u2019s disapproval of their coverage is a clear attempt to control which voices are allowed to witness and report on the exercise of presidential power,\u201d said the group\u2019s president, Mark Schoeff.<\/p>\n