Major TV networks to stop covering Trump after White House bans CNN

On Monday, 21 September 2026, a cascade of moves reshaped the way the United States' most senior office would be reported. The White House announced that it had revoked television access for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, and the five‑network White House television pool – the only mechanism that allows live coverage of presidential events to the public – announced it would no longer provide coverage of Donald Trump’s activities.

The ban was first announced on Friday 18 September 2026, when President Trump posted on Truth Social that he was “banning fake news” outlets – naming CNN, MS NOW and Politico – from the White House “effective immediately.” Trump described the three outlets as “fake news” and warned that other media could follow. The ban was carried out the next day when the White House revoked the credentials of journalists from the three outlets, with several reporters reporting that they were told by Secret Service agents that their badges had been disabled and that they could not enter the premises.

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CNN, MS NOW, Politico sue Trump admin over White House access

The immediate fallout was felt in the White House television pool, the five‑network system that has long provided live video of presidential events to the public. CNN, which had been scheduled to serve as the pool’s representative for Trump’s trip to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, was prevented from fulfilling that role. In a memo sent to pool members, Fox News Washington bureau chief Bryan Boughton confirmed that “effective today, the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the President,” and that the White House had “prevented” CNN from performing its duties. The other four members – NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox – subsequently announced that they would similarly stop providing pool coverage of Trump’s events, leaving the pool empty for the day.

In the same week, the three banned outlets released a joint statement announcing their intention to file a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C. The statement, which appears verbatim in several sources, reads:

"This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports and publishes. Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting. Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference."

Joint statement, CNN, MS NOW, Politico, via The Guardian

The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order that would immediately restore the three outlets’ access while the case proceeds.

Trump’s decision has revived a long‑standing constitutional battle. The president’s ban is being challenged as a direct assault on the First Amendment, with the outlets arguing that the White House is retaliating against them for the content of their reporting. The complaint cites a 1977 federal court ruling that the White House cannot arbitrarily deny a journalist a press pass without due process, and it argues that the ban constitutes viewpoint discrimination in a nonpublic forum.

Trump’s relationship with the press has been fraught for years. In 2018, during his first term, the White House revoked the credentials of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta after a tense exchange at a news conference; a court later ordered the White House to reinstate Acosta’s pass. In 2025, the administration barred the Associated Press from spaces such as the Oval Office and Air Force One after the AP refused to adopt a style change that would have renamed the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. Trump’s current ban follows these precedents, and the lawsuit will likely revisit those legal arguments.

Network	TV pool status (21 Sep 2026)	Current coverage role
CNN	Withdrawn – banned from pool duties	Scheduled to cover UN General Assembly trip
ABC	Withdrawn – no pool coverage	None
CBS	Withdrawn – no pool coverage	None
Fox News	Withdrawn – no pool coverage	None
NBC	Withdrawn – no pool coverage	None

With the pool empty, the White House has listed the conservative outlet Real America’s Voice as a “secondary” crew for Trump’s trip to New York, a move that has drawn criticism from the other networks.

Trump’s ban has also been accompanied by a broader threat. In a Truth Social post on Friday, he warned that “other Fake News Media Outlets” could soon be banned.

In the immediate future, the lawsuit filed by CNN, MS NOW and Politico will be heard in a federal court in Washington, D.C. The parties seek an emergency order to restore access on a temporary basis, while the court considers the constitutional arguments. The White House has yet to issue a formal statement on the lawsuit.

For the next few days, observers will watch for a court ruling, the White House’s response, and whether other media outlets will be affected by Trump’s warning. The case will test the limits of presidential power over media access and could set a precedent for future conflicts between the White House and the press.