White House denies Politico access to Air Force One

The US government denies the news portal “Politico” access to travel on the presidential plane “Air Force One”. This is reported by the broadcaster CNN, which, together with the portal and MS Now, is currently resisting restrictions on reporting from the White House.

The White House on Monday barred Politico from taking part in a planned trip to US President Donald Trump's campaign appearance in Nebraska, according to CNN. An attempt was made to find a medium at short notice that was willing to replace the portal. "But it couldn't find a replacement," the station quotes from an email from Washington Post journalist Katherine Doyle to colleagues. The place therefore remained unoccupied.

The television station CBS then quickly shared its notes and information from the trip with other media in order to enable short-term reporting. This gesture is considered unusual because the media are otherwise in fierce competition with each other in their coverage of the US president.

Trump announced on September 18th that he wanted to ban Politico, CNN and the broadcaster MS Now from the White House. Experts classified the anti-press move as unconstitutional. All three media outlets are now suing against the exclusion, and a judge has temporarily ordered that the government must grant the media access again.

Since then, however, CNN has been denied travel on Air Force One several times. The White House is apparently counting on being able to regulate access to the presidential machine regardless of the decision in Washington. Asked about the latest exclusion, a Trump spokesman said, according to CNN: "Traveling with the President of the United States aboard Air Force One is a privilege, not a right."