Trump Claims White House Bars CNN, MSNBC, and Politico From Access

In a sweeping and unusually blunt escalation of his long-running feud with the press, US President Donald Trump said he is banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, accusing the outlets—without offering specifics—of reporting “fiction and lies.”

Mr Trump said “other Fake News Media Outlets” could be targeted next, though he did not identify any additional organisations.

“I am proud to announce that, effective immediately, I am banning Fake News CNN, MSNOW… and Politico… from the White House as a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social network.

The decision is all but certain to draw legal challenges, with experts saying it runs up against the First Amendment protections for free speech and a free press in the US Constitution.

Mr Trump did not explain what triggered the move, but argued that “media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America.”

Speaking later in the Oval Office, he defended the action in comments to reporters: “I think that somebody has a right to keep them away if they’re going to write false stories all the time.”

US presidents almost never flatly bar news outlets from the White House. Still, Mr Trump barred a CNN reporter during his first term, and Richard Nixon imposed restrictions on The Washington Post over its reporting on the Watergate scandal.

In his second term, however, Mr Trump’s administration has tightened its grip on day-to-day press access, including taking control of which journalists are allowed to cover events in the “pool” used for cramped venues such as the Oval Office and Air Force One.

Last year, Mr Trump barred The Associated Press from some events because the news agency continued to use “Gulf of Mexico” rather than “Gulf of America,” the name he decreed.

According to Fox News reports, the White House has told all three outlets they will be barred from the grounds beginning Saturday.

Even after the announcement, reporters for Politico and CNN were still in the White House press room for the time being.

Across both White House terms, the 80-year-old president has repeatedly attacked news organisations over coverage he dislikes.

Mr Trump has filed multiple defamation suits against outlets, lashed out at the press on Truth Social and verbally berated several reporters.

The surprise declaration also arrives as his approval ratings hit record lows and as his Republican Party faces the prospect of losing control of Congress in November’s midterm elections.

His deteriorating political standing has been driven in part by the war in Iran and higher prices, especially at the gas pump.