President Donald Trump this week banned three major media outlets, CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, from the White House. The outlets have responded with a lawsuit, while other media outlets have dropped their support for the White House video pool.
But what does First Lady Melania Trump think?
According to the Daily Beast, while Trump has effectively barred CNN from the White House, the First Lady allowed a CNN reporter, Betsy Klein, to cover her appearance this week at the U.N. General Assembly. The Beast added that others in the administration are not abiding by the CNN ban. Politico’s Dasha Burns and CNN’s Kylie Atwood were among the reporters invited to a press reception with Secretary of State Marco Rubio ahead of the General Assembly.
Intriguing: I’m told the Office of the First Lady has approved CNN reporter @betsy_klein‘s credential to cover an event with Melania Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/pRlzuDKKFb
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) September 21, 2026
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“According to POLITICO, Rubio delivered off-the-cuff remarks and mingled with guests at the midtown Manhattan event, alongside other Trump officials including US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz and Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau,” the Daily Beast article said.
According to The New York Times, other media outlets have stood up for outlets Trump has banned, even as the president has threatened to add more to the banned list.
It’s pretty remarkable that the networks did this, even with 2 that are seen as “Trump allies” standing in solidarity with CNN and MSNBC (Fox News and CBS). https://t.co/vIUgtmapmQ
— Beau Sorensen 🇺🇦 (@sorrogrande) September 21, 2026
“Four other major TV networks said they were suspending their shared coverage of presidential events in response to the president’s action,” the Times said. “The New York Times and The Washington Post also said they would limit publication of photos taken from the president’s events today as part of a broader effort among journalists to boycott in support of the banned journalists. NPR plans to stop using audio from White House events, according to an internal memo viewed by The Times.”
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
