WASHINGTON — Reporters for CNN, MS NOW and Politico were denied entry to the White House on Saturday, one day after President Donald Trump said he was barring the outlets over coverage he condemned as “fake news.”
The move marked a significant escalation in Trump’s continuing efforts, through court battles and administrative measures, to limit coverage by journalists and organizations he considers hostile. It also created a new test of First Amendment protections in the United States. Trump said Friday that all three outlets would be excluded because of reporting he disliked.
CNN White House correspondent Betsy Klein and MS NOW reporter Akayla Gardner each reported live that they had been turned away while arriving for work. Politico later said its White House reporter, Cheyenne Haslett, was also refused entry and had her press badge confiscated.
Politico Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Greenberger told the newsroom in a statement that the organization stood behind Haslett and its other White House reporters. “We will vigorously defend our First Amendment rights,” he said.
CNN and MS NOW issued similar responses. “We will not be deflected from our duty to hold the government and other public bodies to account,” CNN said.
“The White House belongs to the American people and the decisions made inside are funded by our tax dollars,” MS NOW said. “MS NOW intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalism in our democracy.”
During his second term, Trump and his administration have intensified pressure on selected media organizations through litigation and regulatory action. Trump has also targeted individual reporters in person and on social media, at times using deeply personal insults during briefings and in his recent address at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
CNN and MS NOW correspondents are turned away
Network correspondents typically work weekends when the president is in Washington or at nearby Camp David. Trump is spending this weekend at the presidential retreat in Maryland.
Gardner said she passed through two gates before reaching the checkpoint where her badge had to be scanned. An officer then told her the credential had been disabled and asked her to surrender it, adding that the decision “was above him.” An MS NOW producer was allowed inside, she said, while a photographer’s badge was also deactivated.
Klein said CNN had likewise deactivated her badge. Officials confiscated the credential but returned its clear plastic holder and directed her to the White House press office for additional information.
Amy Kristin Sanders, a Penn State University professor and media-law specialist, said it had “become pretty clear that this administration is not interested in playing by traditional First Amendment rules and norms.”
“The second Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on press freedom and delegitimize independent journalism far exceed those of any other modern American president,” Sanders said. “It is not an exaggeration to say his hostile actions toward news organizations and individual reporters have a chilling effect on freedom of expression around the world.”
CNN media analyst Brian Stelter described the exclusions as “a direct threat to press freedom in the United States.”
“It’s so much bigger than CNN,” Stelter said. “This is a free speech test in America.”
Trump calls these and other outlets ‘fake news’
Trump announced the action Friday on his social media platform, writing that he was “banning” CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House “as a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!” Later, at an Oval Office event, he was asked to explain the decision.
“Because they’re fake news,” Trump replied. “You get so tired of reading and seeing fake news. When you look at CNN, it’s just fake. That’s why their ratings are no good. When you look at MS NOW … it’s fake news.”
He also accused Politico of publishing false stories and suggested other outlets could face similar treatment. “But our country has to have honest news,” Trump said.
The White House action followed Trump’s decision last year to bar Associated Press reporters from the Oval Office, Air Force One and other events. The retaliation came after the AP declined to adopt Trump’s preferred name, “Gulf of America,” for the Gulf of Mexico, which borders Mexico and includes waters belonging to Mexico and other countries. The AP said it would identify Trump’s renaming order when appropriate.
The AP sued, and that case remains ongoing. Since returning to office, Trump has also pursued legal action involving The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the BBC. His administration remains engaged in a long-running dispute with ABC over the renewal of its broadcast licenses.
The Associated Press said Saturday that it supported the organizations barred this week. “No news organization – or person – should be retaliated against by the government over the words they use,” the AP said.
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Associated Press journalist Mike Householder contributed.
MS NOW said its journalists were denied access to the White House grounds Saturday morning, a day after President Donald Trump said he would ban the network and other news outlets from the complex.
The action escalated Trump’s long-running efforts to restrict news coverage by journalists he finds objectionable, and is the latest test of First Amendment protections in the U.S. Trump said Friday that he was barring the news channel, along with CNN and Politico from the White House due to what he called unfavorable coverage and “fake news.”
MS NOW said in a statement that it stands behind its journalists.
“The White House belongs to the American people and the decisions made inside are funded by our tax dollars,” the network said in a statement Saturday. “MS NOW intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalism in our democracy.”
It was unclear Saturday morning whether CNN journalists were also being blocked from the White House grounds. Network correspondents are usually there on the weekends when the president is in Washington or at nearby Camp David. Trump is at the presidential retreat in Maryland this weekend.
Politico journalists typically are not at the White House on Saturdays.
The video in the player above is from a previous report.
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