The White House has barred CNN from flying aboard Air Force One with President Donald Trump for his Saturday trip to Tennessee, once again disrupting the television press pool just a day after major networks resumed joint coverage of the president.
Trump last week announced that CNN, MS NOW and Politico would be barred from the White House, accusing the outlets of what he described as unfair coverage. The move comes amid a broader legal and political fight between the Trump administration and several news organizations over White House access. The organizations subsequently sued the administration, arguing that the restrictions violated constitutional protections for the press. A federal judge later ordered the administration to restore the affected reporters’ credentials. That disrupted television coverage during the president’s visit to the United Nations General Assembly. The pool provided coverage of the leaders’ activities, including Xi’s visit to the National Archives.
The five major television networks had previously declined to take CNN’s place after the network was prevented from carrying out its pool assignment for Trump’s trip to New York . CNN reporters returned to the White House grounds on Thursday after their access was restored. The networks resumed pool coverage on Friday as Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington.
