White House declines to comment further on the exclusion, referring NBC News to Trump's previous comments
The White House, as reported by NBC News
“The White House declined to comment further Saturday, referring NBC News to Trump’s previous comments.”
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
NBC News report of Saturday, September 19, 2026, read in full on nbcnews.com. The article has been revised since first publication and now covers all three outlets; the sentence quoted is NBC's own report of the White House's response.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)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
On Friday, CNN reported that the White House Press Office, asked for comment on Trump's post, referred to his Oval Office remarks. On Saturday morning reporters for MS NOW, CNN and Politico said they were refused entry at a White House gate.
After the quotation
The White House had not otherwise commented on the exclusion in any source read; NBC also reported that a White House spokesperson referred it to Trump's spoken comments about the new policy.
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. Asked about the exclusion, the White House declined to say more and pointed reporters to the President's earlier remarks, a reported decline that expresses no evaluation of its own. The closest competing label is defends_or_excuses, because the remarks it points to defend the exclusion. That loses because the White House itself offered no evaluation; a referral is not an endorsement.
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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
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
Freedom of the Press Foundation
“It’s difficult to imagine a more blatant violation of the First Amendment than Trump banning news outlets from the People’s House for criticizing the government. It’s also hard to imagine a dumber move.”Read statement