Donald Trump’s appearance at the United Nations General Assembly in New York will not receive coverage from the leading U.S. television networks on Monday, after broadcasters united in protest over the White House’s decision to bar CNN and MS NOW.
Fox News, CNN, ABC, CBS and NBC—outlets that make up the television news pool—said they would not send camera crews or reporters to cover the president’s scheduled events.
As a result, Trump’s visit to New York for the UN General Assembly is expected to go without live or recorded coverage on the major broadcast networks.
Real America’s Voice, a conservative media outlet, plans to stream the United Nations event. Hearst, meanwhile, will cover Trump’s activities at the White House for local television audiences.
Bryan Boughton, Fox News’ Washington bureau chief, confirmed Monday morning that no television news personnel would be assigned to the UN under the pool arrangement.
“This is to advise that, effective today, the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the President,” Boughton wrote in an email.
“This follows the White House’s position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties. There will be no replacement pool put in place.”
The broadcasters have not said when their regular pool coverage of the president will resume.
Fox News, CNN, ABC, CBS and NBC—collectively known as the TV pool—are protesting the White House’s decision and will not send camera crews or reporters to cover the president on Monday
Television broadcast tents outside the White House stood empty Monday after Trump barred several outlets from the presidential residence
CNN had been scheduled to provide the television pool crew on Monday. That plan changed after Trump barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House.
The White House’s official daily schedule, distributed Sunday, confirmed that no television pool would operate Monday, effectively removing CNN’s scheduled assignment.
Trump has also warned that the New York Times and Washington Post could face similar action.
The president banned the outlets on Friday, accusing them of being “fake news” and criticizing their reporting on his administration.
Vice President JD Vance defended the move Monday, describing it as a matter of “basic fairness.”
“They can still report. They still have access to free speech. They’re just not going to get an office in the White House anymore,” Vance said.
Reporters from the barred organizations who arrived at the White House over the weekend saw some of their press credentials revoked.
The major television networks responded by backing the affected outlets and issuing a strongly worded statement condemning the president’s decision.
CNN Senior White House Reporter Betsy Klein, right, leaves the White House after her credential was revoked Saturday, following President Donald Trump’s ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico
MS NOW White House correspondent Vaughn Hillyard reports from a street corner outside the White House grounds Monday after his outlet was barred
‘The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government,’ they said in a statement. ‘No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting.’
When pressed for comment, the White House responded with a social media post from the president published earlier on Monday morning.
‘The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish,’ Trump wrote. ‘It is instituting an assault on the fake news, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America.’
‘It is corrupt, purposeful, pervasive, fully coordinated, and totally out of control. It is a threat to our National Security, and must be stopped, now!’
The three media outlets Trump targeted, CNN, MS NOW and Politico, announced they would combat the administration in court over the ban.
‘This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes,’ they said in a statement released on Monday.
‘Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting,’ the statement continued.
‘Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.’
The White House also published a cryptic social media post on Monday with a TV showing static with the caption: ‘Something’s coming. Stay tuned.’