President Donald Trump announced Friday that he is banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House “effective immediately,” accusing the three news organizations of reporting “fake news” about him and his administration.
“Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow.”
Asked about the ban during an Oval Office appearance later Friday, Trump said, “You need a free press. You need a fair press and an honest press. They purposely write negative news.”
The White House referred TheWrap to those remarks but did not clarify how the ban would be implemented or whether it would revoke reporters’ credentials, restrict their access to the White House grounds or exclude the outlets from briefings, presidential events and the press pool.
A CNN spokesperson told TheWrap: “CNN stands fully behind our White House team and their fair and accurate reporting. We have a right under the U.S. Constitution to do that reporting without hindrance or interference from the government. Should the ban which President Trump threatened go ahead, it would be an illegal assault on that fundamental and constitutionally-protected right.”
A Politico spokesperson said, “Politico will continue to fairly report on this White House and future ones. We will vigorously defend our First Amendment rights against any attempt to restrict them.
The claims that Politico received government subsidies are false and have been thoroughly debunked.”
MS NOW declined to comment.
In his post, Trump falsely claimed that MSNBC changed its name to MS NOW “due to lack of viewership and credibility.” The cable network rebranded in November 2025 because it was separating from NBCUniversal as part of Comcast’s spinoff of Versant and could no longer use NBC’s name and peacock logo. Versant said in a regulatory filing that the rebranding was announced “in connection with the Separation.”
Trump also described Politico as the recipient of an “illegal and ridiculous $8 Million Dollar subscription” from the federal government under former President Joe Biden. The figure referred to subscriptions purchased across government agencies, primarily for Politico Pro, the company’s specialized policy-information service—not a single payment intended to keep the news organization operating. Both the Biden and Trump administrations paid for news-service subscriptions, according to a FactCheck.org review.
The announcement marks Trump’s latest escalation against news organizations whose coverage he opposes.
In 2025, the White House barred Associated Press reporters from certain presidential events after the outlet continued referring to the Gulf of Mexico by its longstanding name rather than Trump’s preferred “Gulf of America.” The AP sued, arguing that it was being punished for its editorial choices. A federal judge initially ordered the administration to restore the outlet’s access, although an appeals court later allowed the restrictions to remain in place while the litigation continued.
CNN’s inclusion could also affect the traditional television pool, through which networks rotate responsibility for providing video coverage of the president to other news organizations. Trump’s announcement, however, did not specify whether CNN would be removed from that rotation.
