CNN announced that its staff were denied access to Air Force One for a scheduled presidential trip to Tennessee on Saturday. The incident highlights the ongoing friction between the Trump administration and major media organizations that the president frequently criticizes.
According to the Associated Press, CNN was originally designated to serve as the television press pool representative for the weekend. Under this arrangement, CNN journalists are responsible for covering the president’s activities and distributing the resulting video footage and information to the other four major networks participating in the pool. Instead, that role was assigned to Real America’s Voice News, a conservative media outlet.
The destination of the trip is Knoxville, where President Trump is expected to attend a college football game.
This restriction follows a broader conflict earlier in the week, when the White House banned CNN, MSNBC, and Politico from the White House grounds. President Trump justified the move by accusing the networks of publishing “fiction and lies.” In response, several major television networks suspended their pooled coverage of the president in solidarity with the barred outlets.
Although a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on Thursday that lifted the ban on White House access for the affected news organizations, the ruling specifically addressed credentials for entering the building rather than the obligations of press pool duties. Consequently, the prohibition on CNN’s participation in the pooled coverage for the upcoming travel remains in effect.
Suspicious timing with the football game. Seems like they just want friendly coverage for a PR stunt rather than actual journalism.
I’m shocked they’re actually doing this. Isn’t the press pool system designed to ensure all networks get equal footing, regardless of content?
This is a dangerous precedent. Press pools should be about access, not political loyalty. Who decides which outlet gets to report the news?