Trump announces he is banning CNN, MSNOW and Politico from the White House over their reporting
President of the United States, in a post on his Truth Social account (posted again to his X account at 8:11 PM EDT)
“I am proud to announce that, effective immediately, I am banning Fake News CNN, MSNOW (who recently changed their name from MSNBC due to lack of viewership and credibility!), and Politico (The recipients of an illegal and ridiculous $8 Million Dollar subscription, an All Time Record, directly from the United States Government, under Crooked Joe Biden, in order to keep them “alive.” Seems like corruption to me!), from the White House as a result of their constant “reporting” FAKE NEWS! Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America. Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow.”
Source and context
Original text
About this source
Trump's own post announcing the exclusion. The page at this URL serves the full post text in its page metadata (read in full); that text is character-for-character identical to the archive copy and to Trump's 8:11 PM EDT cross-post on X. The Truth Social page carries no timestamp, so the 3:04 PM EDT time comes from the archive page (Original Post Date Friday, September 18, 2026, 03:04 pm EDT; re-captured Saturday, 12:37 PM EDT with the text unchanged). Truth Social's own canonical URL is this form, without /posts/; both forms return the same page. The archive page is included as a readable backup and as the source of the timestamp.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Original post
About this source
Trump's cross-post of the announcement on X, read through the fxtwitter API (text and timestamp). The text is identical to the 3:04 PM EDT Truth Social post; this is a repost five hours later, not the original announcement.
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)Reporting
About this source
MS NOW's own news story, with page metadata showing publication at 11:15 AM EDT and last modification at 1:06 PM EDT Saturday (edits between 11:37 AM and 1:06 PM EDT changed only sidebar items). The page was rewritten during the day: the browser title still reads 'MS NOW journalists denied entry to White House on day after Trump bans them in First Amendment test' while the current headline names all three outlets. MS NOW is a party; the story carries its spokesperson statement. The story calls the second MS NOW staff member a cameraman, where CNN and AP call the person a photographer.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Trump posted at 3:04 PM EDT on Friday, September 18. The post also describes Politico as the recipient of an "illegal and ridiculous" $8 million government subscription under President Biden.
After the quotation
About an hour later Trump defended the announcement in the Oval Office. CNN and Politico issued statements that evening, and on the morning of September 19 MS NOW, CNN and Politico each said a White House reporter had been refused entry.
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 on September 18, 2026 that CNN, MS NOW and Politico are banned from the White House because of their coverage, as reaffirmed in the Oval Office that afternoon. Trump is the author of that act and states it as a decision he is proud of, giving the outlets' coverage as the reason, so the post advances the conduct under scrutiny rather than describing it. The closest competing label is challenges_characterization, because the post calls the outlets' reporting "fake news" and "lies". That loses because those assertions are offered as the justification for an exclusion he announces and endorses in the same post.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- CNN, MS NOW, Politico
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