Trump Bans CNN, MS NOW and Politico From White House, Journalists Blocked at Gate

President Donald Trump announced Friday, September 18, 2026, that he was banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, effective immediately, citing their coverage of him as fiction. The announcement came via a Truth Social post, and the ban's exact scope was left unclear at the time of the announcement.

The following morning, the ban was enforced in practice. Journalists from MS NOW were denied access to White House grounds, with one reporter describing being asked to hand over their press badge at the gate. CNN confirmed that its journalists were similarly turned away, and Politico reporters were also blocked, according to reporting from CNBC. CNN called the action an "illegal assault" on a fundamental constitutional right.

Legal experts and press freedom groups condemned the move. Bruce D. Brown, president of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said such a ban would be "flatly unconstitutional" under the First Amendment. MS NOW said it intended to take all steps necessary to defend its First Amendment rights. The action echoes Trump's February 2025 decision to bar Associated Press journalists from the Oval Office, Air Force One and small-pool events after the AP declined to rename the Gulf of Mexico; that case remains in litigation.