US President Donald Trump announced Friday that he is "immediately" banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, the latest chapter in his long-running, deeply committed relationship with the media outlets he loves to hate.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the outlets "constantly write or report fiction or lies" about his administration, though he offered precisely zero examples, presumably because the examples were busy being fictional and lying somewhere else.
He later called it a "very simple ban," but declined to explain how it would actually work. It remains unclear whether employees of those outlets would be physically prevented from entering the White House grounds, or whether the ban is more of a spiritual vibe.
CNN swiftly slammed the move as an "illegal assault" on American press freedoms, and the announcement is likely to meet legal challenges - because of course it is.
In the meantime, reporters from both Politico and CNN were still on the White House grounds shortly after the announcement, presumably enjoying the ban while it lasts. A CNN crew was also travelling with Vice-President JD Vance to and from an event in Iowa, which is an odd place for a banned outlet to be.
In a statement, CNN called a potential ban illegal and said it "stands fully behind our White House team and their fair and accurate reporting."
"We have a right under the US Constitution to do that reporting without hindrance or interference from the government," the CNN statement said. "Should the ban which President Trump threatened go ahead, it would be an illegal assault on that fundamental and constitutionally-protected right."
Politico also released a statement, saying it "will continue to fairly report on this White House and future ones" and that it "will vigorously defend our First Amendment rights against any attempt to restrict them."
MS NOW, formerly MSNBC, declined to comment - a strategy that has never once failed to be mysterious.
In his post, Trump said: "Media outlets shouldn't be able to constantly write or report fiction and lies when they're covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration or the United States of America. Other news outlets to follow." The post did not mention any specific stories or reporting that prompted the move, which is convenient.
Asked about the ban in the Oval Office, Trump said there was "no reason" for the announcement being made on Friday afternoon. "It's really just cumulative stories over the last few years," he said. "You get sick of it."
Trump added that there "may be others to join them," but did not name any specific news outlets - leaving the entire White House press corps to enjoy a pleasant weekend of wondering.
He also acknowledged that legal challenges may follow his announcement, saying, "I think it's good to point it out, whether it survives or doesn't." A philosophy that has never before been applied to, say, a restraining order.
Since returning to office in January 2025, Trump and administration officials have repeatedly clashed with members of the White House press corps. In his second term, Trump has also moved to bring conservative bloggers, influencers and other media into the press room, arguing it is necessary to provide diverse perspectives to the American public.
In February, the White House announced it was taking control of the press pool that has access to Trump and had for more than a century been managed by the White House Correspondents Association.
The same month, the administration moved to bar Associated Press (AP) reporters and photographers from spaces where access is limited, such as the Oval Office or Air Force One, because of the outlet's usage of the term "Gulf of Mexico" instead of "Gulf of America." The Associated Press swiftly filed a lawsuit and the case remains ongoing.
The president often clashes with reporters in the Oval Office, on Air Force One and during White House events, often referring to them as "fake news" and "rude" - a critique that has never been levelled at any other profession.
In his first term, Trump also banned CNN correspondent Jim Acosta from the White House, although they restored his credentials after CNN sued. History, as they say, doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme.
CNN is one of only five US news outlets that film video for the pool. The pool refers to an outlet or reporter sharing material from a presidential event with other media outlets. The BBC contributes to the White House radio pool.
The announcement was immediately criticised by leading advocacy organisations for freedom of the press.
In a statement Friday afternoon, the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University said that "with so many courts having ruled against him on exactly this point, you'd think President Trump would have learned this lesson by now."
"If President Trump means to expel these news organizations from the White House press pool, his action is doubly unconstitutional because the press pool is a 'public forum' under the First Amendment, which means the president can't exclude journalists from it on the basis of their viewpoints," the institute's executive director, Jameel Jaffer, said.
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press said it expects Trump's ban to be quickly struck down by the courts because it is "flatly unconstitutional."
"The First Amendment is clear that once the White House invites in some journalists, it can't ban others because it doesn't like their reporting," said the group's president Bruce Brown, calling the potential ban "textbook viewpoint discrimination."
The Freedom of the Press Foundation also said it was illegal, adding: "It's also hard to imagine a dumber move." It said Trump "has been retaliating against the press for years, but it hasn't helped him," and that "these outrageous attacks only demonstrate how scared he is of an informed public."
Trump has pursued legal action against a number of US and international news outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and the BBC. Some of the lawsuits have resulted in media organisations agreeing to pay multimillion dollar settlements. Trump's lawsuit against the BBC is ongoing.