FIRE says the president is free to criticize coverage but "can't ban outlets from the White House" over their reporting
Free-speech nonprofit, in a post on its official X account
“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.”
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Post from FIRE's official account, read verbatim through the fxtwitter API (created 20:44:49 UTC on September 18, 2026). CNN attributed the same message to FIRE's Aaron Terr; the post itself is unsigned.
Before the quotation
FIRE posted at 4:44 PM EDT on September 18, about an hour and forty minutes after Trump's post.
After the quotation
The post continues that press credentials "aren't a reward for loyalty to the government".
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. FIRE rejects the exclusion while defending the president's freedom to criticize coverage. The closest competing label is mixed_or_conditional, because FIRE grants that the president may criticize the media. That loses because that concession is about speech, not about the exclusion, which FIRE says he cannot do.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Donald Trump
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
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