Trump calls the exclusion "a very simple ban" that could end if the outlets "straighten themselves out"
President of the United States, answering reporters' questions at an Oval Office event on health care
“A very simple ban. 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, and if they could straighten themselves out, you know, if they could straighten themselves out, I'd love it.”
Source and context
Original video
About this source
Official White House video of the President's health-care event in the Oval Office on September 18, 2026, which began at about 3:38 PM EDT and ran 56 minutes. YouTube auto-captions garble words in this video (they render "bans" as "bands"), so the audio was transcribed with whisper large-v3-turbo and the quoted passage checked against that transcript. Transcription adds punctuation but no words. CNN's published transcription of the passage reads "It’s a very simple ban"; the recording is followed here.
Before the quotation
A reporter asked what the exclusion meant in practice, listing badges, the press pool and the Oval Office. Trump first said "Oh, the ban on the free press, right?" and then gave the answer quoted here.
After the quotation
Trump went on to call the outlets dishonest, cited past media settlements and lawsuits, and closed the event by saying "So we are banning them. Yes, we are. And there may be others to follow."
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 restates and defines the act in his own terms, saying he does not want the outlets in his office or at the White House. The closest competing label is mixed_or_conditional, because he says he would "love it" if the outlets straightened themselves out. That loses because the remark describes when he might relent, not a reservation about the exclusion he is defending.
- 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