White House blocks CNN from Air Force One amid ongoing media access dispute

The White House has blocked CNN from traveling aboard Air Force One on Saturday, impeding its TV press pool duties in the latest escalation of the administration’s battle with the news media.

CNN had been scheduled to fly with Donald Trump to Tennessee for a college football game, the network said on Friday. The White House confirmed CNN’s exclusion when it did not list the network on guidance sent to the press corps regarding Trump’s schedule for Saturday.

CNN’s exclusion from Air Force One was first reported by the Washington Post. The White House did not immediately return the Guardian’s request for comment.

The incident comes a week after Trump, a vocal critic of what he deems the “fake news media”, revoked White House access for CNN, MS Now and Politico, citing unfavorable reports about his presidency.

“Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES,” Trump wrote then on Truth Social, vowing that similar action would be taken against other outlets.

The extraordinary move prompted swift backlash from the White House press pool, who suspended their video coverage of Trump in protest.

The press pool is a rotating group of journalists charged with covering presidential travel and disseminating written and multimedia reports to news outlets that may not be present at a given White House event. Since the beginning of Trump’s second administration in 2025, the White House has decided which outlets cover the president via the pool each day, a task previously coordinated by the White House Correspondents’ Association.

In a joint statement Monday, the White House television pool said: “The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting.”

In a subsequent lawsuit, CNN, MS Now and Politico argued the White House ban was a violation of the first amendment.

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice’s attorneys suggested the ban was in the interest of national security, pointing at media reports involving “sensitive” and “classified” information.

The US district judge Timothy Kelly sided with the outlets, ordering the Trump administration to restore their White House access.

CNN, MS Now and Politico’s journalists sought to enter the White House on Thursday morning, but were not granted entry until midday.

Hours later, CNN’s editorial team along with an MS Now reporter were blocked from covering the state dinner commemorating Chinese president Xi Jinping’s visit.