WASHINGTON — The White House barred CNN from flying on Air Force One on Saturday for President Donald Trump’s trip to Tennessee, the latest restriction in a widening dispute with news outlets the president has sought to exclude from coverage.
CNN had been scheduled to serve its regular rotation as the television pool for the trip to Knoxville, where Trump attended a college football game between the University of Tennessee and the University of Texas. According to The Associated Press, the White House guidance instead listed the conservative network Real America’s Voice News, meaning the trip proceeded without the standard television pool arrangement in which a small rotating group of journalists covers the president and shares material with other networks.
Asked about the decision Saturday morning, Trump said, “I want real news. I love an open, free press,” adding that what he dislikes is “the fake press,” singling out CNN and MS NOW. CNN said it had been slated to cover the trip on behalf of the major television networks, which take turns providing pool coverage.
The move follows a fast-moving legal battle. On Sept. 18, Trump announced he was banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House; journalists from the outlets were turned away the next day and had credentials seized. The outlets sued, and a federal judge temporarily blocked the ban early Thursday, ordering credentials restored — though the ruling addressed White House ground passes, not pool duties or Air Force One access. Reporters returned to the complex with cameras on Thursday, and CNN served as pool for the Trump-Xi Jinping visit to the National Archives on Friday.
Press-freedom advocates and the affected outlets say the restrictions target journalism the administration dislikes; the White House has said it is exercising discretion over access. The dispute remains before the courts.