White House Removes CNN From TV Pool Duties

Presidents have accommodated pool coverage at the White House for nearly a century. It is extremely rare for a president to travel or hold public events without being accompanied by representatives from the press pool.

Five networks — ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News — rotate as the designated television outlet covering presidential events, sharing the financial costs and distributing footage that is carried by news organizations worldwide. CNN had been slated to provide coverage during Mr. Trump’s travel on Monday to New York, where he is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly this week.

It was unclear whether another TV network would be designated as the pool representative to take CNN’s place, or if any network would agree to do so.

CNN, MS NOW and Politico said in a joint statement on Monday that they would sue the Trump administration for barring them from the White House, saying it was a violation of their First Amendment rights to cover the president. Experts say the ban is unlikely to withstand legal scrutiny.

Mr. Trump defended his decision in a social media post on Monday. “The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish,” he said. “It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/21/business/media/cnn-trump-press-pool-ban.html