CNN read and criticized President Donald Trump’s announcement that their reporters would be banned from the White House.
Trump revealed on Friday via Truth Social that CNN, as well as MS NOW and Politico, would no longer have access to the White House because of their “constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS.”
“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 added, warning that “Other Fake News Media Outlets” would be banned as well.
After the Truth Social post was read in its entirety on the network, CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter was brought on to comment about it.
“This is a very unusual post from the president, and the first question I had when I saw it was, ‘What did CNN and MS NOW and Politico write that might have made the president so upset?’ There is no specific answer in his post,” Stelter said.
LOL. They read every word. https://t.co/Atw8OIyHCz pic.twitter.com/kxISo0Agp9
— Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKolvet) September 18, 2026
The journalist added that as of half an hour after the post was made, there was no indication that the White House would “actually follow through” with the “pretty incendiary” claim.
Stelter even asked for CNN to show their live shot from the White House, noting that their staff were still present as of Friday afternoon.
But on Saturday, reporters from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico were indeed barred from the White House, per a report from the Associated Press.
Betsy Klein of CNN and Akayla Gardner of MS NOW reported that they were turned away when arriving to work on Saturday.
Politico reporter Cheyenne Haslett was also denied entry and even had her credentials badge confiscated.
.@msnownews statement on its journalists being denied access to the White House grounds: pic.twitter.com/Svw77LD4kQ
— MS NOW Public Relations (@MSNOWComms) September 19, 2026
“We will not be deflected from our duty to hold the government and other public bodies to account,” CNN said in a statement.
“The White House belongs to the American people and the decisions made inside are funded by our tax dollars,” MS NOW added in its statement.
“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.”’
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