President Donald Trump sharply rebuked a reporter who challenged him over the media access ban he imposed on several major news organizations.
Before boarding Air Force One on Saturday morning for a trip to Tennessee to attend a college football game, Trump addressed reporters about his decision to bar journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico from covering the White House.
The move drew immediate criticism after the outlets’ press credentials were deactivated. CNN, MS NOW and Politico subsequently sued the Trump administration, prompting a federal judge to lift the ban.
MS NOW White House correspondent Akayla Gardner confronted the President with a question: “Do you only want outlets that support you to be a part of the press pool?”
“No, no, I want real news. Not fake news, like you,” Trump replied.
CNN had been scheduled to cover the President’s trip to Knoxville, but the network was replaced by LindellTV, a station owned by Trump ally Mike Lindell.
“I love an open, free press. What I don’t like is the fake press, with a group like CNN, with a few people watching, or MSDNC, which they changed I guess to NOW,” Trump said, taking a swipe at Gardner’s network, formerly known as MSNBC.
“You know why they changed it? Because their ratings are so bad. What I don’t like—wait, wait, be quiet,” Trump continued as Gardner attempted to respond.
Trump lashed out at a female reporter on Saturday morning as he prepared to board Air Force One for a trip to Tennessee to attend a college football game.
He appeared to point directly at MS NOW White House correspondent Akayla Gardner after she asked: “Do you only want outlets that support you to be a part of the press pool?”
“Do you not want tough questions, sir?” Gardner asked.
“What I don’t like is fake news, and they are 100 percent fake news. 100 percent. In two years,” Trump said as the reporter repeated her earlier question.
“In two years I doubt they did one good story and I won the election in a landslide,” the President added. Appearing to point toward Gardner, he continued: “So what we don’t want, is we don’t want is fake news!”
Gardner, among the reporters turned away by the administration the previous week, later posted a transcript of the exchange on X.
Trump’s latest confrontation with the media came only hours after he used Truth Social to criticize the news organizations he frequently attacks.
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“Why should perpetrators of FAKE NEWS, like CNN and MSDNC, be allowed access to a very sacred place, the White House? Despite my big Election Win, almost 100% of ‘TRUMP’ coverage is negative, and has been for years!” one post stated.
In a follow-up post, he wrote: “FAKE NEWS SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED IN THE WHITE HOUSE!!! IT HAS GONE ON FAR TOO LONG, AT A TREMENDOUS COST TO OUR COUNTRY. President DJT.”
After Trump barred outlets he labeled “fake news” from covering him on September 18, CNN, MS NOW and Politico moved quickly to take legal action.
The heated exchange took place between Trump and MS NOW White House correspondent Akayla Gardner, who was working near the White House after being banned the previous Saturday.
“This ban could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment nor a more blatant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles,” lawyers for the outlets wrote in a 27-page complaint filed on Monday.
The suit, lodged in federal court in Washington, names Trump, chief of staff Susie Wiles, communications director Steven Cheung and Secret Service director Sean Curran as defendants.
It asked a judge to immediately block the ban and order the White House to hand back the reporters’ hard passes, which were confiscated at the gates the same day.
On Thursday, US District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a temporary restraining order that blocked the ban on the outlets and ruled that their access must be reinstated.
The order will remain in place for 14 days while the legal battle plays out.
Kelly indicated early in the hearing that he was skeptical of the president’s decision to revoke access for select journalists, noting that the White House did not give them ‘constitutionally adequate due process.’
Responding to the ruling, Ted Boutrous, the lawyer representing the news outlets, told CNN: ‘This is a strong ruling vindicating freedom of the press, due process and the rule of law. We greatly appreciate the court’s swift action.’
The White House was prepared for the ruling in favor of the media outlets, as Trump admitted Tuesday he would ‘probably’ let the banned outlets return if the courts ordered him to do so.
Trump also acknowledged on social media that Kelly would rule in their favor.
‘They have drawn a great Judge, for them, a man who ruled in favor of Jim Acosta, who now seems to have disappeared from the Planet,’ the President wrote, vowing in advance to appeal the ruling.
Kelly was appointed by President Trump to the federal district court in Washington in 2017.