Hegseth says the Department of War fully supports Trump's decision to exclude CNN, MS NOW and Politico
U.S. Secretary of War (Defense), posting from the official @SecWar account on X
“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.”
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Post from the official Secretary of War account @SecWar, read verbatim through the fxtwitter API (created 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
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. Hegseth expresses direct support for the decision in the first sentence of his post. The closest competing label is challenges_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.
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- 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