President Donald Trump has always been adversarial toward the media, often through name-calling and, at times, lawsuits. But now, Trump’s White House has crossed a new line.
The president announced in a Truth Social post on Friday that he is banning three major media outlets, CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, from the White House.
“I am proud to announce that, effective immediately, I am banning Fake News CNN, MSNOW (who recently changed their name from MSNBC due to lack of viewership and credibility!), and Politico (The recipients of an illegal and ridiculous $8 Million Dollar subscription, an all-time record, directly from the United States Government, under Crooked Joe Biden, in order to keep them “alive.” Seems like corruption to me!), from the White House as a result of their constant “reporting” FAKE NEWS!,” Trump wrote, in a lengthy run-on sentence.
Trump also threatened that more bans were to come.
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Trump, throughout his second presidency, has frequently sparred with CNN’s chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins, who is also an anchor on the network, and the ban would apply to her.
The reference to Politico’s subscriptions is a long-debunked scandal from more than a year ago, when it was reported that numerous government agencies pay for subscriptions to Politico’s proprietary services. This was a part of Politico’s standard business model and not in any way controversial until that moment.
The New York Times reported that “it was not clear how such a ban might be enforced, or whether it could pass muster in the event of a legal challenge.” The Trump Administration had previously banned several media outlets from the Pentagon, although that led to a legal challenge and has since been blocked by a judge. Trump also sought to ban the Associated Press from the White House earlier this year, after the wire service opted not to recognize Trump’s change of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, although that too was challenged in the courts.
This afternoon President Trump claimed that he is “banning” CNN, MS NOW and Politico “from the White House.” The president said the ban was “effective immediately,” but there is no indication his administration has taken any steps to follow through. https://t.co/M8jZeMBDpc
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) September 18, 2026
The Times noted that, in his first term, Trump had attempted to ban then-CNN reporter Jim Acosta from the White House, although that ban did not stick, also after a court challenge.
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
