CNN calls exclusion ‘illegal assault’; WHCA condemns move
MS Now and CNN said their journalists arrived at White House gates on Saturday morning and were denied access by US Secret Service agents, with their press passes confiscated — the first enforcement of a ban President Donald Trump announced the day before on his Truth Social account. MS Now said in a statement that one of its reporters and a cameraman were denied entry at a security gate outside the West Wing. CNN said its reporter Betsy Klein was also turned away and had her press pass seized.
In a Truth Social post Friday afternoon, Trump said he was ordering the removal of MS Now, CNN, and Politico from the executive branch complex “effective immediately” over what he described as “constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!” Trump did not identify a single infraction. He said his decision was “really just cumulative stories over the last two years. You get sick of it,” and added that he was “considering banning more” outlets.
MS Now, in a statement, said “The White House belongs to the American people and the decisions made inside are funded by our tax dollars.” The network said it “intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our first amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalism in our democracy,” and that it “stands firmly behind our anchors, our reporters and our newsroom” and would “continue to report on the president, the administration and the issues that impact the American people.”
CNN said in a statement: “We have a right under the US constitution to do our reporting without hindrance or interference from the government and this ban is an illegal assault on this fundamental right.” After Friday’s ban was announced, CNN also said that removing its reporters from the grounds could violate the law. A spokesperson added that the network “stands fully behind our White House team and their fair and accurate reporting.”
Politico issued a statement saying it would “continue to fairly report on this White House and future ones” and “will vigorously defend our first amendment rights against any attempt to restrict them.”
The White House Correspondents’ Association, which represents the White House press corps, condemned the move on social media. “The constitution protects the freedom of the press from government interference,” the group said. “That protection does not depend on whether the president likes a news organization’s coverage, agrees with its reporting or approves of the questions its journalists ask.” The WHCA framed the matter as “about more than the rights of journalists,” describing it as “the right of the American people to receive a full and independent account of the activities, policies and decisions of whoever occupies the nation’s highest office.”
PEN America, a press-freedom organization, said “Someone needs to explain to President Trump how the first amendment works.” The group added: “As we’ve seen time and time again, this administration’s hostility toward the press is never about the accuracy of news stories, but about its inability to withstand scrutiny of its actions. The White House can’t be allowed to decide which journalists are able to cover the president based on the content of their news coverage.”
Jim Acosta, a former CNN reporter, accused Trump of “taking a meat axe to the free press in this country.” Speaking on MS Now on Friday, Acosta called the latest media bans “a slippery slope” and warned: “We are on the path to having a state media-like system in this country.” Acosta urged the affected outlets to act collectively, saying “Each of these news organizations should sue the White House, sue Donald Trump, and that other news organizations in Washington should band together and say, ‘We will not go to the White House and cover you and cover your administration. We’re banning you.’”
The action echoes a similar move last year, when the Associated Press was banned from the White House after refusing to acknowledge an executive order changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.”
Trump has long clashed with the media over what he considers slanted coverage of his administration and himself personally, and has described a media environment in which the press and his political opponents are in collusion, according to the Guardian. The paper reported that Trump’s threat to banish the three outlets drew condemnation from first amendment advocates and Democratic officials as the conflict between the US president and parts of the media sharply escalates ahead of November’s midterm elections. The Guardian said the move has also thrown into stark relief what it described as Trump’s attack on press freedom in the US, a characterization the paper said has unnerved civil liberties advocates.