President Donald Trump said he has barred CNN, MSNOW and Politico from the White House, accusing the outlets of spreading “fake news.”
Journalists from the affected organizations said they were caught off guard by the move and had received no advance warning at the White House on Thursday.
Asked about the announcement by NBC reporter Kelly O’Donnell in the Oval Office, Trump said he acted because the outlets were “fake,” had low ratings and, in Politico’s case, because “they have a government under Biden who gave them $8 million to keep them afloat.”
It was not immediately clear what prompted Trump’s online outburst.
Trump said in the Oval Office that there was no specific reason for the timing, describing it instead as the result of a “cumulation of stories over the past few years” that he had grown “sick of.”
“Maybe they can get better and we’d like to have them in,” Trump remarked. “Somebody has got to keep them away.”
In his initial Truth Social post, Trump warned: “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. Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow.”
Trump was later asked by a reporter which other news organizations could face similar action.
“The New York Times” is fake news. “Washington post” is fake news. They’re crumby papers. Both doing poorly, by the way. We’re probably not going to display the paper anymore in the white house. We haven’t taken the step of throwing them out,” he said.
As the news emerged, reporters at the White House were overheard questioning whether it was a “Trump hissy fit” or an actual policy decision.
It is unclear what this means moving forward for access.
President Donald Trump says he has banned CNN , MSNOW and Politico from the White House, citing ‘fake news’
Reporters walk near the area known as ‘Pebble Beach’ on the north side of the White House when the news broke that Trump plans to ban several outlets from the White House
Arkansas Gov. and former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders answers a question from a reporter on whether or not she agrees with Trump’s ban
Arkansas Gov. and former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders answered a question from a White House reporter on whether or not she agrees with Trump’s ban.
‘Sure,’ she responded.
‘I think it’s hard for you to argue against a free press when you’re in the oval office asking questions of the president of the United States… the president is right to support the first amendment. But he’s also right to ask that you be honest and fair. That’s not an unreasonable thing to ask,’ she added.
The White House was reached out to for comment on this story but did not immediately respond.
This comes after President Trump’s move back in February of last year to keep reporters from the AP out of White House coverage after the outlet decided not enact his name changes for the Gulf of America.
The AP filed a lawsuit and that case is still pending.
Trump has had a contentious relationship with the media for quite some time, with no outlets escaping his wrath.
He has targeted the Wall Street Journal, the BBC and the New York Times.
He has often sparred with CNN’s Kaitlin Collins in the oval office, saying her questions were ‘dumb’ and that she should ‘smile more.’
President Donald Trump just posted on Truth Social saying he is banning ‘Fake News CNN, MSNOW and Politico’ from the White House, ‘as a result of their constant reporting fake news’
The White House ban includes CNN and their star reporter Kaitlan Collins, among other outlets the President says he is barring from the White House
Trump has had a contentious relationship with the media for quite some time, with no outlets escaping his wrath. He has targeted the Wall Street Journal, the BBC and the New York Times. He has often sparred with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins in the Oval Office
Right-wing influencer Nick Sortor posted on social media after the update saying the CNN ban was a positive development because it ‘was LONG overdue.’
Sortor wrote: ‘Kaitlan Collins in particular is EXTREMELY rude and REGULARLY interrupts President Trump in the Oval Office.’
This decision from President Trump will likely face legal challenges from the media organizations that are involved in the White House ban.
President Trump attended the White House Correspondents Dinner for the first time this year, and gave a speech that focused on attacking his political opponents, making jokes and taking shots at the media.