CNN said Friday that it had planned to accompany President Donald Trump to Tennessee on Saturday for a college football game. The network was not allowed to fly on Air Force One that day and could not handle its television press pool assignment on the trip.
Officials confirmed the decision by leaving CNN off the Saturday schedule notice sent to the press corps. The flight restriction followed a court order issued only days earlier.
Judge Timothy Kelly had directed the administration to give CNN, Politico, and MS Now their White House access back. Trump had pulled those credentials a week before the Tennessee trip and pointed to coverage he called unfavorable.
Court ruling and pool protest came before the Air Force One decision
Trump addressed the dispute on Truth Social early Saturday. He wrote: “Why should perpetrators of FAKE NEWS … be allowed access to a very sacred place, the White House? Despite my big Election Win, almost 100% of ‘TRUMP’ coverage is negative, and has been for years!” The post named CNN and called MS Now “MSDNC.” He posted it days after a Reuters/Ipsos poll put his overall approval at 32 percent, an all-time low in that survey. The White House has moved to restrict press access, as it launched Trump TV after banning CNN, Politico, and MS Now.
According to The Guardian, the White House television press pool had already objected to the earlier credential ban. Pool members stopped providing video coverage of Trump in protest. Their Monday statement said: “The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting.”
The pool is a rotating team that covers presidential travel and shares notes and video with other outlets. The selection process has occasionally led to disruptions, such as when a press pool boycott left an official event without microphones. Starting in 2025, the White House itself has chosen which organizations sit in the pool each day. The White House Correspondents’ Association used to run that rotation.
CNN, MS Now, and Politico filed a lawsuit after the ban. They said the restriction violated the First Amendment. Justice Department lawyers replied that national security justified the move and cited reporting that involved “sensitive” and “classified” information.
Kelly ruled for the three outlets and ordered access restored. Reporters from CNN, MS Now, and Politico tried to enter the White House Thursday morning. They were not let in until midday.
Later that same day, CNN’s editorial staff and an MS Now reporter were kept out of the state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping.
