JB Pritzker calls Trump's announced exclusion of CNN, MS NOW and Politico an attack on the First Amendment
Governor of Illinois, posting on his verified X account and his Bluesky account
“This is yet another attack on the First Amendment”
Source and context
Original post
About this source
First-party post from his X account (@JBPritzker, government-verified; name and bio match). Read through the fxtwitter API: created Fri Sep 18 19:47:33 +0000 2026, source Twitter Web App, not a reply. It is a quote-tweet of @atrupar status 2101025660806332752, which reproduces the core sentence of Trump's announcement (effective immediately, banning Fake News CNN, MSNOW and Politico from the White House over their constant 'reporting'). x.com itself was not opened directly.
Original post
About this source
Identical text on his Bluesky account (jbpritzker.bsky.social, DID did:plc:7y56hbn7lt6gkqrjj65quotl, Bluesky-verified), read through the public Bluesky API (getPostThread).
Reporting
About this source
CNN Business story first published 3:40 PM EDT on September 18, 2026 and last modified 10:12 PM EDT (page metadata), read in full on cnn.com. CNN is one of the three outlets, so its account of its own staff is an outlet's account.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
At 3:04 PM EDT on September 18, 2026, Trump posted on Truth Social that, effective immediately, he was banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House because of their coverage. Pritzker's X post, about 43 minutes later, quoted journalist Aaron Rupar's post reproducing the announcement.
After the quotation
CNN reported that Trump defended the announcement in the Oval Office that afternoon and that there was no indication the administration had taken steps to follow through as of Friday evening.
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 at 3:04 PM EDT on Friday 2026-09-18 and reaffirmed on camera in the Oval Office that afternoon, that CNN, MS NOW and Politico are banned from the White House because of their coverage. Pritzker, quoting a post that reproduced the announcement, calls it yet another attack on the First Amendment and says Trump is acting against journalists he dislikes to keep the public from hearing about his record, which rejects excluding the outlets. The closest competing label is challenges_characterization, because the post also disputes Trump's stated reason by attributing a different motive. That loses because the motive claim supports, rather than replaces, an express condemnation of the act as an attack on the First Amendment.
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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