CNN has been denied access to travel aboard Air Force One for President Donald Trump’s upcoming trip to Tennessee, representing the most recent development in the White House’s continued friction with major news organizations. The exclusion occurred after a media schedule released on Friday night omitted the network from the roster of outlets covering the president’s Saturday trip.
The journey was intended to cover a college American football match. CNN reported that no other broadcaster was listed in its place on the president’s tentative itinerary, raising questions about whether the exclusion was targeted specifically at the network.
This incident follows a series of contentious moves by the Trump administration against the press. Just last week, President Trump banned journalists from CNN, Politico, and MSNBC from the White House grounds, accusing them of publishing “fiction or lies” regarding his administration. In response, the three outlets announced they were pursuing legal action, arguing that the bans violated their First Amendment rights to free speech and a free press.
The conflict drew immediate reaction from other major networks. ABC, CBS, Fox News, and NBC, which share a daily rotation of White House coverage with CNN, paused their broadcasts of the president in a show of solidarity with the barred outlets. The White House subsequently launched its own streaming platform, Trump TV, ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Legal challenges have impacted the administration’s ability to enforce total bans. A federal judge recently ruled that prohibiting news outlets from the White House was likely unconstitutional, forcing the administration to restore access at least temporarily. However, restrictions remain in place in certain areas; the White House continued to deny entry to specific CNN and MSNBC reporters assigned to cover arrivals for a state dinner hosted for Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday.
A White House communications account defended the restrictions on social media platform X, stating that despite what it characterized as misinformation from “Fake News,” media outlets do not have unrestricted access to every part of the White House, every event, or every press call.
Regular television coverage from the White House resumed on Friday after officials allowed reporters back inside. President Trump is scheduled to attend the game between the University of Tennessee and the University of Texas at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville starting midday on Saturday.
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