White House to ban CNN, MS NOW, Politico over ‘fake news’ claims

The president, citing what he said were “lies” in media reports on his administration, said he planned to add more outlets to the ban — likely inviting another legal challenge.WASHINGTON (CN) — President Donald Trump said Friday he would ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, claiming the media outlets had reported “fake news” about him and his administration.It’s a major escalation in the president’s yearslong feud with the media and one that is sure to draw the ire of the White House Correspondents’ Association as well as a legal challenge.Writing in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said the bans were “effective immediately” and resulted from what he framed as the outlets’ reporting of “fake news.”“Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States of America,” the president wrote, tacking on a suggestion that other news media outlets might soon get the boot.Trump has long been at odds with CNN, who he has for years claimed unfairly covered him. The president in 2018 briefly banned then-CNN reporter Jim Acosta from the White House after a clash in the briefing room.And in his social media post he took particular aim at Politico, accusing the beltway-focused politics publication of receiving an “illegal” government subscription to the tune of $8 million under the Biden administration. Subscriptions to Politico content, common for government agencies, were some of the first federal spending to be slashed under the second Trump administration by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.As of Friday afternoon, the White House Correspondents’ Association had yet to respond publicly to the bans. Spokespeople for CNN, MS NOW and Politico did not immediately return requests for comment.Trump’s move to cut media organizations he doesn’t like out of the White House is almost certain to draw a First Amendment challenge in the courts. The Associated Press in February 2025 sued the administration after the president barred its reporters from the Oval Office over a dispute stemming from Trump’s renaming of the Gulf of Mexico.The AP argued at the time that the ban constituted illegal retaliation by the executive branch and was a gambit to control free speech.Acosta, removed from the briefing room under the first Trump administration, got his press pass back following his own lawsuit in which a federal judge ordered the White House to permit him to return. Trump ultimately settled with Acosta after which his credentials were permanently reinstated.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads