The major American television networks —ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox News— announced on Monday the suspension of their joint coverage of President Donald Trump's activities, in solidarity with CNN, which has been barred from the White House along with MS NOW and Politico.
The conflict began on Friday, September 18, when Trump announced on his platform Truth Social the immediate ban on access to those three media outlets, accusing them of spreading fake news. The ban took effect the following day: the correspondents from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico were physically denied entry when attempting to access the presidential complex, and the Politico journalist had her press pass confiscated as well.
This Monday, the White House took a step further by removing CNN from its assigned slot in the rotating coverage system to accompany Trump to New York, where he is participating in the UN General Assembly.
The joint coverage system —known in English as a pool— operates through a rotation among five networks: ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, and Fox News. The assigned network films presidential events and shares the footage with the other accredited media outlets. Following CNN's exclusion, the other four networks refused to send a replacement, leaving the presidential events of the day without shared television coverage.
Bryan Boughton, head of the Washington office of Fox News and acting president of the television pool, formalized the decision with a statement: "Effective today, the television pool will not cover events designated as pool coverage of the president. There will be no replacement pool."
The actions of the chains coincided with a joint lawsuit filed by CNN, MS NOW, and Politico against the Trump administration for violating the First Amendment. In a joint statement, the three media outlets explained: "This morning we notified the Government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our rights under the First Amendment and to defend the principle that the Government does not decide what the press reports or publishes."
The lawsuit, confirmed by the AP agency, claims that the revocation of credentials "without notice or process" constitutes a "flagrant violation" of constitutional rights and a form of discrimination based on the content of the journalistic coverage.
The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA), led by Jacqui Heinrich, demanded the immediate reinstatement of access and warned that the criteria used to exclude one outlet could be applied in the future against any other.
The constitutional expert Bruce D. Brown, president of the Committee to Protect Journalists, described the veto as "flagrantly unconstitutional" and noted that the jurisprudence is clear: "Once the White House invites certain journalists, it cannot prohibit others based on the content of their coverage, which constitutes viewpoint discrimination."
Trump responded this Monday on Truth Social with an argument that his critics consider contradictory: "The White House is not waging an attack against a free press, something I appreciate," he stated, insisting that his offensive is directed against "fake news" and not against press freedom in general.
It is not the first time that Trump has attempted to restrict media access to the White House. During his first term, he had already denied access to CNN and other media outlets, although he was unsuccessful in the courts. However, the coordinated suspension of the pool coverage by the remaining four networks represents an unprecedented action in the recent history of the U.S. presidential press.
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