White House Bars CNN from Air Force One Trip One Day After Federal Judge Orders Credentials Restored
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The White House reportedly barred CNN from traveling aboard Air Force One with President Donald Trump on Friday, just one day after a federal judge ordered the administration to restore the network’s White House credentials.
CNN was scheduled to cover Trump’s trip to Tennessee for a college football game as part of the rotating television press pool—an arrangement where designated journalists cover the president and share footage and reporting with other networks.
CNN Excluded from Press Pool Schedule
According to the White House guidance issued on Friday evening, September 25, CNN was omitted from the television pool for the Saturday trip. The schedule did not name a replacement outlet, leaving the trip without television press pool coverage entirely.
The dispute began when Trump abruptly announced that CNN, MS NOW, and Politico would be barred from the White House, accusing them of repeatedly publishing what he described as false and negative coverage.
“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,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on September 18.
CNN, MSNBC, and Politico subsequently challenged the decision in court. In a joint statement, the news outlets argued that the move threatened press freedom and the public’s access to independent journalism.
Judge Restores Press Credentials Amid Ongoing Pool Dispute
Just a day before CNN’s reported exclusion from the Air Force One flight, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the administration to immediately restore the media organizations’ credentials early Thursday morning, denying a request to delay the order.
The temporary restraining order will remain in effect for 14 days while the court considers the outlets’ request for a preliminary injunction.
The reporters were not immediately allowed back into the White House following the court order. CNN correspondent Betsy Klein and MS NOW White House correspondent Laura Barron-Lopez stated that they were turned away several times before finally gaining access later on Thursday.
Regular White House coverage resumed on Friday, with CNN participating in the television pool during President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the National Archives. The television pool provides pooled footage and reporting to news organizations unable to send their own correspondents to presidential events.
In an earlier joint statement, the White House television pool stated that the public has a “vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government” and argued that administrations should not restrict news outlets based on their reporting.