White House bars CNN from Air Force One for Saturday trip, escalating press-access conflict

The White House barred CNN from traveling with President Trump on Air Force One for a trip to Tennessee on Saturday, impeding the network’s press pool duties in the latest escalation of the administration’s battle with the news media. CNN had been scheduled to fly with Trump to a college football game.

The White House confirmed CNN’s exclusion by not listing the network on the media schedule sent to the press corps on Friday night regarding Trump’s schedule for Saturday. CNN’s exclusion from Air Force One was first reported by the Washington Post. The president is set to attend a University of Tennessee versus University of Texas game at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville from midday local time on Saturday.

The exclusion comes a week after Trump, a vocal critic of what he deems the “fake news media,” revoked White House access for CNN, Politico, and MS Now. The three outlets pursued legal action. They argued the ban violated their constitutional rights to free speech and freedom of the press. US district judge Timothy Kelly ruled that Trump barring outlets from the White House was likely unconstitutional and ordered the administration to restore access. The Department of Justice’s attorneys suggested the ban was in the interest of national security, pointing at media reports involving sensitive and classified information. The reasons remain disputed. Trump accused the outlets of writing fiction or lies about his administration. He separately cited unfavorable reports about his presidency. In a post about the topic on his Truth Social platform early Saturday, the Republican president wrote: “Why should perpetrators of FAKE NEWS … be allowed access to a very sacred place, the White House? Despite my big Election Win, almost 100% of ‘TRUMP’ coverage is negative, and has been for years!” A White House communications account earlier posted on X that “contrary to what the Fake News wants you to believe, they don’t just get to have free rein into every part of the White House, every event and every press call.”

State dinner exclusion and entry delays

CNN, MS Now, and Politico journalists sought entry to the White House on Thursday morning but were not granted entry until midday. Hours later, CNN’s editorial team along with an MS Now reporter were blocked from covering arrivals at a state dinner for Chinese president Xi Jinping, commemorating his visit. Regular US television coverage resumed on Friday after White House officials allowed reporters entry.

Network solidarity and Trump’s response

Four television networks that share a daily rotation of White House coverage with CNN — ABC, CBS, Fox News, and NBC — paused their broadcasts of the president in solidarity with the banned outlets. In a joint statement issued Monday, the White House television pool said: “The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting.” In a series of online posts on Saturday, Trump criticized CNN and other media outlets. He called them fake news. “FAKE NEWS SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED IN THE WHITE HOUSE,” he said. The post singled out CNN and MS Now, referring to the latter as MSDNC, combining the outlet’s name with the Democratic National Committee. The White House also launched its own streaming channel, Trump TV, ahead of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Since the beginning of Trump’s second administration in 2025, the White House has decided which outlets cover the president via the pool each day, a task previously coordinated by the White House Correspondents’ Association. The press pool is a rotating group of journalists charged with covering presidential travel and disseminating written and multimedia reports to news outlets that may not be present at a given White House event. The White House did not immediately respond to separate requests for comment from the BBC and the Guardian. Trump published his Truth Social post days after a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found his overall public approval rating at 32%, an all-time low.