Hegseth says the Department of War fully supports Trump's decision to exclude CNN, MS NOW and Politico
Pete HegsethU.S. Secretary of War (Defense), posting from the official @SecWar account on X
Posting from the official @SecWar account, Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Department of War fully supports President Trump's decision to remove CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House so they can publish from outside it. The post added that the outlets had already chosen to leave the Pentagon and accused them of endangering troops with false stories and leaks.
“The Department of War fully supports President Trump’s decision to kick CNN, MSN̶B̶C̶NOW and Politico to the curb so they can publish their Fake News from outside the White House.”
Original post
Where this statement fits
Should President Trump bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House over their coverage?
On Friday, September 18, 2026, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that, "effective immediately, I am banning" CNN, MS NOW and Politico "from the White House as a result of their constant 'reporting' FAKE NEWS!" About an hour later, in the Oval Office, he said no particular story prompted the decision, that he does not want the outlets "in my office," and that "somebody has a right to keep them away" if outlets write false stories. The three outlets and press-freedom groups oppose the exclusion, citing constitutional protection for the press, and the White House Correspondents' Association said it "stands in defense of our colleagues at CNN, MSNOW, and POLITICO." On Saturday, September 19, MS NOW, CNN and Politico said their White House reporters were refused entry and had press passes confiscated; the White House referred questions to Trump's earlier remarks. The dispute is over whether President Trump should exclude named news organizations from White House access over what they report.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Post from the official Secretary of War account @SecWar, posted 22:02:49 UTC on September 18, 2026. The post styles MSNBC as struck-through before NOW; the strikethrough characters are preserved in the quotation.
Before the quotation
Hegseth posted at about 6:02 PM EDT on Friday, September 18, roughly three hours after Trump's announcement.
After the quotation
The post went on to say the outlets "already chose to self-deport from the Pentagon" and that they "endangered our troops with false stories, leaks, and trafficked in fiction and lies".
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Hegseth expresses direct support for the decision in the first sentence of his post. The closest competing label is “Challenged the characterization”, because the post also accuses the outlets of publishing false stories. That loses because the accusation supports, rather than replaces, his stated backing of the exclusion.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- CNN, MS NOW, Politico
More from this case
Read the full caseBoutrous distinguishes pool-size limits from retaliation for reporting
“It’s retaliation for speech. That violates the First Amendment.”Read statement
White House says no journalist has a right to Oval Office or Air Force One access
The White House
“No person and no journalist has a constitutional right to access to the President's Oval Office, Air Force One, or other sensitive and private facilities.”Read statement
Schiff says White House press exclusions also harm the public
“When a reporter is denied access to the White House, it isn't just that news organization that suffers. The American people rely on a free press to know what their government is up to, and whether it is acting wisely and lawfully.”Read statement
Share or embed this statement
The embed keeps its attribution link to The Dispute Index. Credit the image to The Dispute Index and link to the statement page.
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Hegseth says the Department of War fully supports Trump's decision to exclude CNN, MS NOW and Politico
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/1135-posting-from-the-official-secwar-account-secretary-pete
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Hegseth says the Department of War fully supports Trump's decision to exclude CNN, MS NOW and Politico". First published: 2026-09-19. Last updated: 2026-09-22. https://disputeindex.com/events/1135-posting-from-the-official-secwar-account-secretary-pete