CNN reporter barred from White House clashes with Trump official over press ban

National PoliticsCNN's Kaitlan Collins does a report before President Donald Trump speaks in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House after an unspecified threat at the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in Washington, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)APCNN reporter Kaitlan Collins pressed national security adviser Michael Waltz about President Donald Trump’s decision to ban three news outlets, including her own. Trump announced on Friday he would be banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico journalists from the White House press pool, citing their “fake news” reporting. He has doubled down on his decision, arguing on Monday that the ban was for “national security” reasons. Collins, one of the most prominent White House reporters, asked Waltz what Trump’s message was to world leaders at the United Nations if he banned the press from the White House. Waltz argued that Trump was advocating for an “open, free, and fair, and objective press corps.”Collins took issue with that, questioning how it could be “open and free and fair” if certain news outlets are not allowed in the White House.“How do we have an open and free and fair press corps if he’s saying, ‘Well, this outlet I don’t like, so they can’t come into the Oval Office, but other outlets can still go?’” she asked on CNN’s “The Source.”“But you just ignored what I just said. You don’t have an inherent right to any government facility that you want, whether it’s Langley or the White House,” Waltz responded. Collins pushed back, noting that previous court cases have found that the government cannot ban outlets based on viewpoints expressed in their reporting. Waltz argued that Trump is not preventing journalists from reporting, but that journalists do not have a right to access government institutions.“I’m standing here, talking to CNN, and you just referenced when I was on CNN on Sunday morning. That is very different than you have access to any government institution that you want. I mean, those are two separate and distinct facts,” Waltz said. Collins then asked Waltz why Trump was citing national security reasons for banning reporters. Waltz pointed to news reports that discussed the levels of ammunition the U.S. has as an example.“When we have outlets that are relying on anonymous sources and talking about the levels of ammunition we have in the middle of conflict, when we’re talking about vulnerabilities that the United States have, when in fact, we’re talking about deployment orders for our soldiers, our navy, our air force that are highly classified,” he said. “That’s absolutely a national security threat and should be investigated and prosecuted.”Collins fact-checked Waltz, saying the munitions reports came from the Pentagon’s inspector general. “Well, that’s not what the President cited when he banned CNN and the two other outlets.But on the munitions. That was in the inspector general’s report from the Pentagon, talking about shortages,” she said. “I mean that is legally obligated to give that report to Congress, right?” she added.Waltz appeared flustered by the fact check, reiterating that reports about ammunition shortages are a threat to national security.Journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico had their White House credentials confiscated over the weekend—a move that critics alleged was a direct violation of the First Amendment.Those three networks announced Monday that they would be suing Trump and three administration officials, including chief of staff Susie Wiles, White House communications director Steven Cheung and Secret Service director Sean Curran, over the decision.Major TV networks and newspapers took a stand against Trump’s ban on the three networks on Monday, with the White House pool announcing they would be suspending television coverage of the president. Newspapers, including The New York Times and Washington Post, also announced they would not be sharing any pool photos of the president in solidarity with CNN.Lauren Sforza covers national politics as a content supervisor and reporter for Advance Local, focusing on the Trump administration, elections and members of Congress. Lauren worked as a trending political...