US President Donald Trump has announced that he has banned three news organisations, CNN, MS NOW and Politico, from the White House, raising more concerns about press freedom under the Trump administration.
He announced the ban in a Truth Social Post on Friday, accusing the organisations of repeatedly reporting “fiction and lies” about his administration.
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The ban, he declared, was “effective immediately.”
“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,” he wrote.
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Mr Trump did not identify the specific reports that he considered false. He also did not explain how the ban would be enforced. But he warned that other media organisations could face similar action.
Mr Trump also accused Politico of receiving “an illegal and ridiculous $8 million subscription” from the US government under the Biden administration.
Politico has denied the allegation.
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However, journalists from the three organisations were still working at the White House on Friday after the social media post.
CNN reported that its team of TV pool reporters was also travelling with Vice President JD Vance when the announcement was made.
The organisation has kicked back against Mr Trump’s ban, insisting that it had the right to report from the White House without government interference.
It called the ban an illegal assault on press freedom and declared that it stands behind its White House team and their “fair and accurate reporting.”
“Should the ban, which President Trump threatened, go ahead, it would be an illegal assault on that fundamental and constitutionally protected right,” it said.
Politico said it would “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 US National Press Club also criticised the ban, identifying it as an attack on the free press.
The club said the ban on news organisations from the White House, based on the administration’s disapproval of their coverage, was meant to silence the press.
The club called it an attempt to “control voices allowed to witness and report on the exercise of presidential power.”
READ ALSO: Trump says deal with Denmark gives US permanent control over Greenland’s security
This is not an isolated case. The administration has barred or restricted reporters from the White House, or other government property, over their reporting many times since Mr Trump assumed office.
In January 2025, Mr Trump barred Associated Press journalists from parts of the White House, including the Oval Office and Air Force One. The AP has sued to restore its access, and the case remains in litigation. In April of the same year, Reuters and Bloomberg News lost their permanent slots in the small pool of reporters covering President Trump.
Also in July, the White House removed the Wall Street Journal reporter from the press pool for President Trump’s trip to Scotland, over the Journal’s reporting on Jeffrey Epstein. Two months later, the Pentagon introduced a new policy which required journalists to pledge they wouldn’t report authorised information or risk losing their press credentials.
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