Reporters from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico were physically blocked at the doors of the White House this Saturday, one day after President Donald Trump announced a ban on access for those three outlets, claiming they spread "fake news."
According to CNN reports, reporter Betsy Klein was stopped at the entrance, and a Secret Service agent confiscated her press pass, informing her that it had been "deactivated." Klein recounted the incident live: "I asked him if he could explain why it had been deactivated. He said he had no further information. I asked once more if he had any additional details, and he told me to contact the White House Press Office."
The correspondent for MS NOW, Akayla Gardner, experienced a similar situation when attempting to scan her credential at the metal detectors: she received a red rejection signal. "An officer asked me to hand over my credential. He said it was deactivated. I asked why I couldn't enter. He said it was above him," Gardner recounted during a live broadcast from outside the venue. The photographer for MS NOW also had his credential taken away. In contrast, a producer from the same channel who arrived later was able to enter without any issues, which caused confusion among the security agents themselves.
Later that morning, Politico reporter Cheyenne Haslett was also denied entry. The outlet's editor-in-chief, Jonathan Greenberger, sent an internal statement asserting, "We will vigorously defend our rights under the First Amendment."
The three organizations announced that they will take legal action. CNN noted in a statement that "this veto is an illegal attack on this fundamental right" and that its journalistic mission will continue "regardless of any attempts to restrict physical access to the White House." MS NOW, for its part, stated that it will take "all necessary steps to defend our rights under the First Amendment and the essential role of independent journalism in our democracy."
Constitutional experts deemed the measure unconstitutional. Bruce D. Brown, president of the Committee to Protect Journalists, stated that "the First Amendment is clear: once the White House invites some journalists, it cannot prohibit others because it dislikes their coverage. This is viewpoint discrimination and will be swiftly overturned by the courts if challenged." Clayton Weimers, executive director of Reporters Without Borders in North America, added that "access to the press is not a privilege for journalists. It is a right to ensure that the American people can be independently informed."
The announcement of the ban, made on Friday through Truth Social, caught several members of the White House staff by surprise, including members of the press office, who were left trying to understand the details of the measure. The action comes just weeks before the 2026 midterm elections, at a time when Trump faces a 33% approval rating—his lowest ever according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll—and a week marked by unfavorable headlines, including an unpopular war in Iran and rising gas prices.
The ban is part of a pattern of restrictions on the press during Trump's second term. In February 2025, the administration banned a reporter from the AP agency from the Oval Office after the agency refused to adopt the term "Gulf of America." In April 2026, Trump threatened a journalist with prison for leaking classified information.
It remains unresolved how the veto will affect CNN's role in the presidential press pool, as it is one of the five television channels that rotate this responsibility. The network was scheduled to cover Trump's trip to New York on Monday for the UN General Assembly, and the five major channels were engaged in active discussions on Saturday about the impact of the measure.
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