Trump Bans CNN Again—Hampering His Own TV Coverage On Big Campaign Day
The Trump administration blocked CNN from joining the White House press pool again on Thursday, appearing to defy a judge’s order and leaving Trump without coverage by one of the five major networks on a busy campaign day.
CNN was initially listed as the assigned TV pool network in a White House schedule published Sunday, but was removed from the guidance on Wednesday evening.
Ted Boutrous, the lawyer representing CNN, MS NOW and Politico in their lawsuit against the Trump administration over revocation of their White House access, said in a statement to multiple outlets, “the White House is persisting in unpredictability and inconsistently implementing the President’s unconstitutional ‘ban on the free press’ by barring CNN.”
CNN’s absence from the TV pool on Thursday means Trump won’t have coverage from one of the five major networks that make up the pool—CNN, Fox, CBS, NBC and ABC—when he travels to Oklahoma and Texas for campaign events, though the networks could obtain footage elsewhere.
Trump also banned CNN from flying on Air Force One over the weekend when it was assigned as the designated TV pooler.
Trump abruptly barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House grounds last month, citing what he described as “constant” reporting of “fake news.” All five TV pool networks refused to cover the president for almost a week, and the three banned outlets sued to block the move, alleging it violated their First Amendment rights. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a temporary restraining order to immediately reverse the ban, writing that the outlets would be “likely to succeed in showing that their hard passes were revoked without constitutionally adequate due process.” He also cast doubt on the merits of Trump’s reasoning for revoking the passes, noting “the court is skeptical—at least on this record—that defendants’ interest in safeguarding national security is the actual motivation.” Trump has blocked the outlets from White House events on several occasions, despite the order, including preventing some CNN and MS NOW reporters from attending events connected to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit last week.
Trump suggested he wasn’t “aware” of the terms of the order, and questioned whether it was even an order in an interview with Time magazine published Thursday, though he insisted, “I’m not ignoring his order . . . when they say orders, what order? I’m not even aware.” He questioned whether the judge “actually said [they should be allowed back on] to the premises of the White House?” Kelly made clear in his order that it was designed to “preserve the latest uncontested status quo while the litigation proceeds.”
‘What Order?’: Trump Says ‘He’s Not Even Aware’ What Judge’s Order Lifting Media Ban Means (Forbes)
CNN, MS NOW And Politico Ask Court To Block Trump From Enforcing Press Ban Again (Forbes)
Natalie Harp Reportedly Showed Trump Critical News Coverage Before Media Ban (Forbes)