Trump cites ‘national security’ for ban—same as ballroom, arch
The Washington Post said Monday it would withhold photographs of presidential events from publication until after midnight Eastern time to support CNN, Politico and MS Now, which the administration has banned from the White House grounds. Hours after the broadcast networks’ announcement, the Post joined them to support the banned outlets, the Guardian reported.
The Post’s announcement came hours after ABC, CBS, Fox News and NBC said they would refuse television pool coverage in solidarity with CNN, which had been scheduled as Monday’s designated pool broadcaster. The five-network broadcast pool was left without a broadcaster for a midday ribbon-cutting ceremony unveiling the new White House helipad.
“Effective today, the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the President,” Bryan Boughton, Fox News’s Washington bureau chief and the current TV pool chair, wrote in an email to pool members, according to the Guardian. “This follows the White House’s position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties.”
Without the television pool’s coverage, viewers tuning into the White House feed for the midday ceremony could not hear Trump’s remarks; the feed showed the president’s mouth moving while the sound of the helicopter’s engine ran underneath.
All five broadcast networks — including CNN — signed a joint statement that read: “The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting.”
Although the broadcast networks said they would withhold televised coverage, the print, radio and wire service press pool continued to provide reports of Trump’s movements throughout the day.
The coordinated refusal came four days after Trump on Friday abruptly announced he was banning CNN, Politico and MS Now from the White House because, he believes, the outlets “constantly write or report FICTION and LIES,” the Guardian reported. On Saturday, reporters and other staff from the three organizations were denied access to the grounds.
On Monday, the three banned outlets filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, asking a federal judge to temporarily block the ban and restore their reporters’ passes to the White House.
On Truth Social, Trump defended his decisions, insisting that his ban was not “instituting an assault on the Free Press” but instead addressing “national security” threats — a claim the Guardian reported the president has recently used to justify building a triumphal arch and the White House ballroom.
Other media outlets and First Amendment advocacy groups have condemned Trump’s ban as an infringement on the right to a free press.