Updated Sept. 18, 2026, 6:17 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said he’s banning reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, accusing each outlet of repeatedly reporting “fake news,” in an extraordinary move that ignited criticism for infringing on a constitutionally protected free press.
Trump, in a Sept. 18 post on Truth Social, said the White House ban is “effective immediately” and vowed future bans on other media organizations will follow.
“There’s something wrong with a country that can allow people to write purposely negative stories,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office shortly after announcing the ban. “Now, if they want to write them, that’s fine, but I don’t have to let them into my, into the people’s house.”
Trump said there wasn’t a specific incident or story that prompted him to ban the three outlets, which would not preclude them from continuing to report on the president. “It’s really just cumulative stories over the last few years. You get sick of it,” he said. “It’s really just cumulative stories over the last few years. You get sick of it,” he said.
The move comes as Trump’s approval rating remains near or at record lows, according to most polls, and as Republicans face strong headwinds to retain control of Congress in November’s midterm elections. Democrats are widely favored to take over the House, while close races in several reliably red states have put the Senate in play, as well.
Trump bristled when a reporter asked whether he’s trying to intimidate the media from doing its job. “I dislike dishonest press, like you. I think you’re terrible. I like to see honest press,” the president said.
Trump had few details on what the ban means in practical terms ‒ whether it’s the revocation of press badges, removal from the White House pool or the inability to enter the White House campus.
“A very simple ban,” Trump said. “I don’t want them in my office, I don’t want them here. I would say the ban would go as far as you can.”
A spokesperson for CNN defended the network’s reporters in a statement to USA TODAY.
“CNN stands fully behind our White House team and their fair and accurate reporting,” the statement said. “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.”
Politico, in a statement, said the publication “will continue to fairly report on this White House and future ones” and “will vigorously defend our First Amendment rights against any attempt to restrict them.”
Representatives of MS NOW declined to comment. The White House Correspondents’ Association, which represents reporters covering the presidency, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump’s adversarial history with the press
Trump has long derided reporting he doesn’t like as “fake news” and taken aim at individual reporters and media outlets over coverage he deems to be unfair. During his second term, Trump has welcomed nontraditional conservative-leaning commentators into the White House press briefing room and Oval Office to ask him questions.
Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, said it’s “difficult to imagine a more blatant violation of the First Amendment” than the president banning disfavored news outlets from the White House.
“The press must continue to fight back to protect their rights, not only to access the White House but to access the public records and whistleblowers this administration so desperately wants to keep from them,” Stern said.
At the same time, Stern said there are “plenty of places to find news, and reporters will continue to do just that” despite the White House ban.
Democrats slammed Trump’s ban. “Donald Trump just did what dictators throughout history have done,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. “This is a democracy. You will not be able to manipulate the news or hide the truth.”
Opposition even extended to some Republican supporters of Trump. “I agree with POTUS that several media outlets covering the WH are biased and unfair,” said Ari Fleischer, the former White House press secretary under President George W. Bush. “Banning them from the WH is not the solution.”
During his first term, the Trump White House in 2018 pulled the press credentials of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta, but a federal judge later intervened and forced the White House to allow Acosta to keep his press pass.
“We’ll see,” Trump said when asked what makes him think his ban will survive in court this time. “Depends on the judge you get, to be honest with you. I don’t think a court should allow fake news to be written day after day after day.”
Shortly after his return to the White House, Trump had the Associated Press removed from the White House pool, which is given the closest access to the president, after the AP refused to change its guidance to reflect Trump’s renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
Trump in 2025 filed a $15 million defamation lawsuit against the New York Times over the newspaper’s coverage of him. In July, the Justice Department subpoenaed several New York Times reporters, seeking to compel them to testify before a grand jury after the newspaper reported on security concerns with Trump’s Qatar-gifted Air Force One. The Justice Department later withdrew the subpoenas.
Trump singled out the New York Times and Washington Post when asked which media outlets he might ban next.
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
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