President Donald Trump said on Friday that he was banning MS NOW, CNN, and Politico from the White House for their reporting on him, a sharp escalation in his antagonism toward the press.
“Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States,” Trump said on Truth Social, his social media platform.
Trump said the ban was “effective immediately,” but did not provide any further details. “Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow,” Trump said.
CNN said in an article published Friday that their reporters “remained seated in their White House workspace near the briefing room as of this writing.”
“CNN stands fully behind our White House team and their fair and accurate reporting. We have a right under the U.S. Constitution to do that reporting without hindrance or interference from the government,” a CNN spokesperson said in a statement.
The spokesperson said the ban, if enforced, “would be an illegal assault on that fundamental and constitutionally-protected right.”
Speaking in the Oval Office on Friday, Trump said he decided to ban the outlets because of “cumulative stories.”
“They purposely write negative news,” Trump said of the outlets. “They do that because they want to try and diminish the Republicans.”
Trump called it “a simple ban.”
“I don’t want them in my office,” he said.
Friday’s ban follows earlier restrictions imposed by the Trump administration on reporters.
Last year, the White House barred journalists from the Associated Press from the Oval Office, Air Force One, and press pool events after the outlet didn’t change the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
In another shake-up last year, several legacy outlets lost their workspaces in the Pentagon.
These legacy outlets, including NBC News and The New York Times, were replaced by other independent journalists and influencers generally considered more aligned with the president.
In a memo at the time, the Defense Department framed the change as a “media rotation program.”
MS NOW and Politico did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent on Friday.
Politico and Business Insider are both owned by Axel Springer SE.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
