Rubio says the outlets are not being closed, only barred from working in the White House
Marco RubioSecretary of State, interviewed on NBC's TODAY
Interviewed on NBC's TODAY, Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the exclusion of CNN, MS NOW and Politico, saying Trump is not closing them, that they can still cover the White House, and that they are not allowed to work from the workspace inside it.
“There aren't a bunch of police officers or soldiers kicking down the doors of MSNBC or MS NOW, whatever it's called, and arresting people and unplugging it from the grid. They're just not allowed to work from the workspace at the White House.”
Reporting
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
Reporting
About this source
NBC News report on Secretary of State Marco Rubio's Sept. 22, 2026 interview with Craig Melvin on NBC's TODAY. It quotes Rubio defending the exclusion of CNN, MS NOW and Politico, saying they can cover the White House but cannot have a desk there, and quotes his answer that pool coverage of him had not been discussed. NBC News is itself a participant in the pool dispute.
Before the quotation
Rubio spoke four days after Trump announced the exclusion and the day after the three outlets filed their lawsuit.
After the quotation
Asked whether he planned to change how he handles pool coverage, Rubio said, "We haven't discussed it."
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Relative to Trump's decision to exclude CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House access because of their coverage, Rubio defends it as a decision about White House workspace rather than a closure of the outlets, saying they can still cover the White House.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- CNN, MS NOW, Politico
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The Dispute Index. "Rubio says the outlets are not being closed, only barred from working in the White House". First published: 2026-09-26. Last updated: 2026-09-26. https://disputeindex.com/events/2801-interviewed-on-nbc-s-today-secretary-of-state