Major Networks Boycott Trump’s UN Visit After CNN, MS NOW Ban

Major U.S. television networks will not send reporters or camera crews to cover Donald Trump’s appearance at the United Nations General Assembly on Monday, joining a coordinated protest over the White House’s decision to bar CNN and MS NOW. Fox News, CNN, ABC, CBS and NBC—collectively part of the television news pool—have opted out of presidential coverage for the day. As a result, Trump’s trip to New York is not expected to air on the major broadcast networks. Conservative outlet Real America’s Voice plans to stream the event from the UN, while local television operator Hearst will cover the president’s activities at the White House. Fox News Washington Bureau Chief Bryan Boughton, who chairs the TV pool and oversees the logistics of presidential coverage, confirmed the move in an email sent Monday morning. “This is to advise that, effective today, the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the President,” Boughton wrote.

“This follows the White House’s position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties. There will be no replacement pool put in place.” It remains unclear when the networks will resume their regular coverage of Trump. CNN had been scheduled to provide the pool crew Monday, before the president barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House. The administration’s official guidance issued Sunday also confirmed that no television pool would operate Monday, effectively removing CNN from the rotation. Trump has additionally threatened possible action against The New York Times and The Washington Post.

Trump announced the bans Friday, labeling the outlets “fake news” and criticizing their coverage of his administration. Vice President JD Vance defended the decision Monday, saying it was “about 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 affected organizations who arrived at the White House over the weekend saw some of their press credentials revoked. In response, the major broadcasters joined forces with the targeted outlets and issued a sharply worded condemnation of the administration’s action.

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“The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government,” the broadcasters said. “No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting.” Asked for a response, the White House pointed to a social media statement Trump posted early Monday. “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.” He described the media as “corrupt, purposeful, pervasive, fully coordinated, and totally out of control,” calling it a threat to national security that “must be stopped, now!”

Although CNN has been excluded from the White House, its journalists and production crew continued covering Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he opened the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, underscoring that the ban does not apply across the entire federal government. CNN, MS NOW and Politico said they would challenge the administration in court. “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,” the organizations said in a statement. “Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting,” they added, warning that the decision could threaten press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, appointed by Trump during his first term, is overseeing the case. He previously ordered the White House in 2018 to restore CNN reporter Jim Acosta’s credentials after they were revoked following a confrontation with the president. The White House also posted an ominous message Monday featuring a television displaying static and the caption: “Something’s coming. Stay tuned.”