Backfire! Most Major News Outlets Leave White House Press Pool in Solidarity With Press Outlets Banned by Trump
WASHINGTON — The five television networks that rotate responsibility for covering the president through the White House press pool said Monday they will suspend pool coverage of President Donald Trump after the administration barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House.
ABC News, CBS News, CNN, Fox News and NBC News issued a joint statement saying the public has an interest in receiving accurate and independent information about the federal government.
“No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting,” the networks said.
The decision followed the White House’s removal of CNN from its scheduled role in the rotating television pool. Bryan Boughton, Fox News’ Washington bureau chief and chair of the pool, informed members Monday that the group would no longer provide coverage of events designated as presidential pool assignments.
The networks said there would be no replacement for CNN and that other pool coverage, including events involving members of the Cabinet and other government officials, would continue.
The presidential television pool allows ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC to share the cost and logistics of covering the president. The network assigned to the pool provides video that can be distributed to other broadcasters and news organizations. CNN had been scheduled to handle pool coverage Monday as Trump traveled to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
Trump announced Friday that CNN, MS NOW and Politico would be barred from the White House, accusing the outlets of publishing what he described as “FAKE NEWS.” Reporters from the three organizations were subsequently denied access to the White House grounds and had their credentials revoked.
The president has not identified a specific report as the basis for the restrictions and has indicated that additional news organizations could face similar action.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a federal lawsuit Monday seeking to restore their access to the White House. The organizations argue that the administration violated their First Amendment rights and constitutional due-process protections by excluding their journalists. They are seeking expedited consideration and a temporary restraining order.
Trump defended the restrictions Monday in a post on Truth Social, saying the administration was not attacking the free press but was targeting what he characterized as “FAKE NEWS.”
The dispute has drawn criticism from press organizations and free-press advocates, while the administration has maintained that the president has authority over access to the White House.