Trump Bars CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House, Threatens More Outlets

US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that CNN, MS NOW and Politico would be barred from the White House, accusing the three news organisations of repeatedly publishing what he described as fake news.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the ban would take effect immediately and warned that other outlets could face similar restrictions. "Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow," he added.

The announcement did not specify which reports prompted the decision. Trump said news organisations should not be permitted to publish what he regards as false information about his administration, arguing that they should not be able to "constantly write or report FICTION and LIES" when covering the president, his administration or the country.

Speaking later to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump defended the move, saying he believed the president had the right to exclude outlets that "write false stories all the time."

The White House did not immediately explain how the ban would be implemented or whether it would affect press credentials, briefings, presidential events or the White House press pool.

The decision quickly drew questions about the constitutional limits of a president's authority to restrict White House access on the basis of news coverage. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press said such a ban would be unconstitutional. Its president, Bruce D. Brown, said: "A ban like this would be flatly unconstitutional."

The First Amendment protects freedom of the press, though legal questions around White House access can turn on distinctions between general access to government officials and access to limited-capacity events or spaces. The announcement is therefore likely to prompt legal and press-freedom challenges.

The move follows an earlier clash in 2025, when Trump restricted Associated Press journalists from certain White House events after the news agency continued to use "Gulf of Mexico" rather than his preferred "Gulf of America." The AP challenged those restrictions in court. Trump has also pursued legal action against several other major news organisations during his second term, and his administration has separately tightened rules governing which journalists take part in press pools covering the president in restricted spaces.

Trump did not identify which organisations might be targeted next, and the White House did not immediately clarify how the restrictions would work. The announcement marks another escalation in his long-running conflict with news organisations whose coverage he considers unfavourable.