The White House Imposes New Press Ban
On September 18, 2026, President Donald Trump banned press organizations CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House. According to CNN, the White House prevented reporters from entering by withdrawing their press credentials the day after this announcement. President Trump selected these organizations because he believes they are “fake news” and spread lies about his administration.
The ban also affected media outlets other than those mentioned. According to “Time,” CNN, ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC make up a White House press pool. All the networks in the pool stopped coverage of President Trump as a sign of defiance.
The three organizations filed a lawsuit against the White House, arguing that the ban violated the freedom of the press outlined in the First Amendment (“Associated Press”), but Attorney General Todd Blanche argued that access to the White House is “a privilege and not a right” (“NPR”). The administration also raised national security concerns regarding the press organizations’ access to sensitive information when inside the White House.
Ultimately, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly temporarily blocked the ban on September 24th because the administration failed to provide due process (“Associated Press”). The judge ordered the White House to restore the organizations’ access. When the temporary ban expired on October 8th, Kelly stated that it would still remain in place for another two business days, pushing the expiration date to Tuesday, October 13th. During the hearing on the 13th, Kelly declared that while the lawsuit remains pending, the White House is prohibited from banning the three organizations.
CNN reported that it has not been included on Air Force One, President Trump’s plane, on which he has taken several trips without CNN since the beginning of the press ban. CNN's lawyers warned in a letter for the Justice Department that if the President continues to leave CNN off the plane, then they will “pursue additional judicial relief.”
Similarly, Politico has been barred from Air Force One. CNN reported that there was no member of the “primary print pool” on the plane for an early-October trip.
Director of Technology Integration Lucia Hassell-Lee emphasized the importance of a free press in holding the government accountable. She stated, “The beauty of our democracy is that our government and Constitution were developed with checks and balances in mind. The First
Amendment, in part, assures that the press can help check our government by sharing news and information on issues that impact our citizens and country as a whole. Any decision that impedes this
right to stay informed and ‘check’ or hold the government and our leaders accountable is, simply put..... unjust.”
Chloe Dobler ’28 said, “I think it’s incredibly ironic that President Trump both claims he champions free speech and flexes when he silences his opponents. It’s pretty ridiculous that his campaign slogan in 2016 was ‘make America great again,’ but he violates the First Amendment in the Constitution.”
