Major US TV news networks agreed to refuse to air coverage of Donald Trump’s White House after the administration banned certain media outlets including CNN from the grounds.
The ban left CNN unable to fulfill its duties as Monday’s White House designated pool broadcaster.
A coalition of four other networks – ABC, CBS, Fox News and NBC, who with CNN form part of a “pool” which take turns providing television coverage of presidential events – said they would not cover events in solidarity with CNN.
“Effective today, the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the President,” Bryan Boughton, Fox News’s Washington bureau chief who is also currently serving on as TV pool chair, wrote in an email to pool members. The role is rotated each quarter. “This follows the White House’s position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties,” said Boughton.
As a result, viewers tuning into the White House feed on Monday could not hear Trump’s remarks during a midday ribbon-cutting ceremony unveiling the new White House helipad. Without proper audio, viewers were only able to watch the president’s mouth move while listening to the sound of the helicopter’s engine running.
In a show of support with the banned outlets, several outlets, including the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Associated Press, said they would not publish or distribute images taken as part of the White House photography pool on Monday, including the president’s departure on Marine One and his events at the United Nations in New York, until midnight eastern. In a statement, the Washington Post described the action as part of a “collective effort”.
The five news networks, including CNN, wrote in a joint statement: “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.”
Although the broadcast networks said they would withhold televised coverage, the print, radio and wire service press pool continue to provide reports detailing Trump’s movements throughout the day.
Hours after the broadcast networks’ announcement, the Washington Post said it would also withhold its photographs of presidential events from being published until after midnight ET to support banned outlets.
On Friday, Trump abruptly announced he was banning CNN, Politico and MS Now from the White House because, he believes, they “constantly write or report FICTION and LIES”. On Saturday, reporters and other staff from the news organizations were denied access to the White House.
Other media outlets and first amendment advocacy groups responded by condemning Trump’s ban, calling it an infringement on the right to a free press.
On Monday, CNN, Politico and MS Now filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, asking a federal judge to temporarily block the enforcement of the ban and restore the reporters’ passes to the White House.
On Truth Social, Trump defended his decisions, insisting that his ban was not “instituting an assault on the Free Press”, but instead addressing “national security” threats – a claim the US president has recently used to justify building a triumphal arch and the White House ballroom.
