Mark Thompson
Role at the time: Chairman and chief executive of CNN Worldwide, speaking on CNN
Statement summary
Speaking on CNN after the preliminary injunction, CNN chairman Mark Thompson called the ruling a vote of confidence in free speech on behalf of the public and said CNN would fight the ban to the end, whatever the cost.
“To me, it's a vote of confidence in free speech and our right, not really so much for ourselves but on behalf of the public everywhere ... No matter how many court cases, investigations, court appearances, and all the expense that that entails, we will fight this one to the end”
TheWrap report on CNN chairman Mark Thompson's remarks on CNN on October 14, 2026, the day after Judge Timothy Kelly granted a preliminary injunction against the White House press ban.
Why we used this label
The case asks whether President Trump should bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House over their coverage. Thompson welcomes the ruling against the ban and pledges to keep fighting it. That opposes the ban, so we labeled it Condemned. The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional; it loses because he endorses no part of the ban.