Ari Fleischer says "Banning them from the WH is not the solution" and urges opening the pool to conservatives
Former White House press secretary and Fox News contributor, on his personal X account
“Banning them from the WH is not the solution.”
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Fleischer's own long-form post (about 57 words) on his X account (id 35218566, verified badge). Read in full through https://api.fxtwitter.com/AriFleischer/status/2101049132895126013 and cross-checked against X's syndication endpoint (author, timestamp, opening text) and the timestamp encoded in the post ID. The post's first sentence says he agrees with President Trump that several media outlets covering the White House are biased and unfair. The post does not name CNN, MS NOW or Politico; its connection to the announcement rests on its timing (about 1 hour 38 minutes after Trump's 3:04 PM EDT post), its topic (excluding outlets from the White House) and Mediaite's same-evening reading of it as a reaction to the announcement.
Reporting
About this source
Roundup of Fox News figures' reactions published Sept. 18, 2026 at 7:21 PM ET. It reproduces Fleischer's post as a block quotation matching the original and identifies him as a Fox News contributor and former White House press secretary. The outlet's headline wording and verbs are its own characterization and are not adopted here. Opened directly (HTTP 200).
Reporting
About this source
Used for context only: it reports that Trump wrote on Truth Social around 3 p.m. Eastern, defended the announcement in the Oval Office about an hour later, that there was no indication his administration had taken steps to follow through, that CNN reporters remained in their White House workspace into Friday evening, and that the White House Press Office referred questions to those remarks. It does not record any statement by Fleischer, Turley or Hume.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Around 3 p.m. EDT on September 18, 2026, President Trump said on Truth Social that he was "banning" CNN, MS NOW and Politico "from the White House" over their coverage, and about an hour later he defended the announcement in Oval Office remarks. Fleischer, a Fox News contributor who was White House press secretary under President George W. Bush, posted at 4:42 p.m. EDT.
After the quotation
Fox News commentators Jonathan Turley and Brit Hume also criticized the announcement on X the same day, and Mediaite included the three posts in a roundup published at 7:21 p.m. EDT. In an article updated at 10:12 p.m. EDT, CNN reported there was no indication the administration had taken steps to follow through and that the White House Press Office had referred questions to Trump's Oval Office remarks.
How this statement is classified
Case context: Should President Trump bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House over their coverage?
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case's fixed reference point is President Trump's announcement, by Truth Social post and again in the Oval Office on September 18, 2026, that CNN, MS NOW and Politico are banned from the White House because of their coverage, that is, excluding named news organizations from White House access over what they report. Fleischer writes "Banning them from the WH is not the solution," an express rejection of the exclusion, and the rest of his post proposes opening the pool and briefing room to conservatives as the alternative. The closest competing label is mixed_or_conditional, because the same post says he agrees with Trump that several outlets covering the White House are biased and unfair. That loses because the agreement concerns the outlets' coverage, which is outside the reference point, and his rejection of the exclusion carries no condition.
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- Donald Trump
Should President Trump bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House over their coverage?
Explore the case context, sources and public responses.
More from this case
Read the full caseMS NOW
“MS NOW intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalism in our democracy.”Read statement
The White House
“The White House declined to comment further Saturday, referring NBC News to Trump’s previous comments.”Read statement
Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
“When the White House opens its doors to the press, it must comply with the First Amendment. The president is as free as any other person to criticize media coverage. But he can’t ban outlets from the White House just because he doesn’t like their reporting or commentary.”Read statement