White House drops CNN from Trump travel pool
The White House has removed CNN from the list of media outlets accompanying Donald Trump on his trip to Tennessee, in a move that comes amid tensions over restrictions on access for critical media to the US president’s events.
According to reports, CNN had been due to travel with a number of US outlets to Tennessee to cover a college American football game. But in the White House’s official notice, released on Friday evening, the network’s name had been removed from the list of media outlets taking part. CNN said no other outlet had been named to replace it in the original schedule.
The BBC reported that it had contacted the White House communications office for an official explanation, but received no response.
The development comes after Trump last week barred CNN, Politico and MSNBC journalists from entering the White House, accusing them of “storytelling” and spreading “fake news.” In response, the outlets said they would take legal action to defend their rights and accused the US president of violating freedom of expression and press freedom.
In further reaction, the four networks ABC, CBS, Fox News and NBC, which provide daily rotating coverage of the White House, stopped broadcasting programmes related to the president in solidarity with the excluded media.
At the same time, legal developments added to the crisis. A federal judge ruled on Thursday, 2 October, that Trump’s move to bar media outlets from the White House was likely unconstitutional and that the administration must at least temporarily allow reporters to return.
Despite the ruling, CNN and MSNBC journalists were barred that same day from covering a formal dinner for Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The White House communications office also wrote on X that the media “do not have the right to freely access all areas of the White House and all briefings.”
After the court ruling and growing media pressure, the White House was forced to allow reporters back in, and the usual coverage by US television networks resumed on Friday. The White House is the main seat of the US presidency, and media access to its events is seen as an important part of news oversight of the president’s actions.
