The White House indicated Friday evening that CNN will not be included on Air Force One for President Donald Trump’s scheduled Saturday trip to Knoxville, Tennessee. This decision marks the latest restriction imposed by the administration on media access during an ongoing legal and political dispute involving First Amendment concerns.
According to White House guidance, CNN has been replaced by Real America’s Voice News, a conservative network, to cover the president’s attendance at the college football matchup between the University of Tennessee and the University of Texas. The exclusion comes shortly after journalists from CNN, alongside MS NOW and Politico, returned to the White House complex with equipment following a temporary judicial reprieve that lifted a ban on the three outlets from the executive complex grounds.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued an overnight ruling early Thursday that temporarily struck down the ban. However, the order specifically addressed “hard passes” for White House grounds access and did not explicitly mention pool duties or Air Force One assignments. Media organizations involved in the litigation believe the court’s decision extends to pool access rights.
Theodore Boutrous Jr., attorney for the news outlets, told CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper” earlier Friday that plaintiffs maintain the recent ruling covers pool access as well. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the specific exclusion from the presidential aircraft.
The U.S. network video pool, which consists of five major broadcast outlets that rotate coverage duties, briefly resumed operations during the day. At noon on CNN, viewers saw footage of President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping touring the National Archives, accompanied by Melania Trump and Peng Liyuan. A source familiar with the pool operations stated that all systems were functioning, though the White House did not immediately clarify the reasoning behind excluding CNN from the upcoming flight.
When CNN, a member of the pool, was previously barred from White House grounds along with MS NOW and Politico, the remaining four pool providers declined to participate in solidarity. The spot reserved for CNN on the upcoming flight is traditionally designated for a member of the U.S. network video pool, a group from which Real America’s Voice News is excluded.
CNN referred inquiries to its editorial coverage rather than commenting directly on the exclusion. Brian Stelter, the network’s media analyst, noted on X that CNN held a valid pool assignment and that the White House had approved the network’s credentials for the National Archives event.
This incident represents a continuation of President Trump’s second-term pattern of targeting media outlets whose coverage he finds unfavorable. Early in his term, the administration banned Associated Press reporters from White House events due to the organization’s refusal to adopt the name “Gulf of America” for the Gulf of Mexico, as mandated by an executive order. The AP’s guidance requires acknowledgment of the new name when relevant. The AP’s legal challenge to that ban is currently on appeal after a federal district judge ruled in the organization’s favor.
The press pool system was established decades ago by the White House Correspondents’ Association to manage access and sharing of journalistic resources covering the president.
Interesting choice to replace them with Real America’s Voice News. Seems less about logistics and more about messaging.
This feels like a direct attack on press freedom. Excluding CNN from the pool system undermines decades of tradition.