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Ongoing story / Donald Trump

The Trump administration and the press: the White House's control of press access

Overview · reviewed November 5, 2026

President Donald Trump's White House has moved to decide which journalists cover him. In 2025 it barred the Associated Press from presidential events over the name "Gulf of America" and took control of the press pool from the reporters who had run it.[1][2] In September 2026, Trump banned CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House over their coverage.[3] A federal judge ordered the three outlets' access restored and in October extended that order, finding that the ban likely violates their rights to free speech and due process.[4][5]

Read the timeline

Follow this story to see new developments when you return.

In September 2026, Trump banned CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House over their coverage.[3] A federal judge ordered the three outlets' access restored and in October extended that order, finding that the ban likely violates their rights to free speech and due process.[4][5]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2025-02-10 (UTC): 13%, 27 of 214 tracked outlets (7 left, 15 center, 5 right)Week of 2025-02-17 (UTC): 16%, 32 of 194 tracked outlets (8 left, 17 center, 7 right)Week of 2025-02-24 (UTC): 12%, 24 of 197 tracked outlets (6 left, 17 center, 1 right)Week of 2025-03-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-24 (UTC): 5%, 10 of 194 tracked outlets (2 left, 5 center, 3 right)Week of 2025-03-31 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-04-07 (UTC): 13%, 26 of 194 tracked outlets (2 left, 17 center, 7 right)Week of 2025-04-14 (UTC): 7%, 15 of 201 tracked outlets (4 left, 7 center, 4 right)Week of 2025-04-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-04-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-02 (UTC): 3%, 6 of 189 tracked outlets (1 left, 4 center, 1 right)Week of 2025-06-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-27 (UTC): 3%, 5 of 174 tracked outlets (2 left, 1 center, 2 right)Week of 2025-11-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-24 (UTC): 3%, 4 of 153 tracked outlets (1 left, 3 center, 0 right)Week of 2025-12-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-10 (UTC): 1%, 3 of 545 tracked outlets (0 left, 2 center, 1 right)Week of 2026-08-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-31 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-14 (UTC): 23%, 109 of 480 tracked outlets (29 left, 47 center, 33 right)Week of 2026-09-21 (UTC): 31%, 149 of 479 tracked outlets (44 left, 59 center, 46 right)Week of 2026-09-28 (UTC): 9%, 44 of 476 tracked outlets (12 left, 25 center, 7 right)Week of 2026-10-05 (UTC): 11%, 52 of 479 tracked outlets (15 left, 27 center, 10 right)Week of 2026-10-12 (UTC): 11%, 53 of 476 tracked outlets (14 left, 29 center, 10 right)Week of 2026-10-19 (UTC): 5%, 25 of 479 tracked outlets (5 left, 15 center, 5 right)Week of 2026-10-26 (UTC): 3%, 16 of 473 tracked outlets (7 left, 7 center, 2 right)Week of 2026-11-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outlets, so far

LeftCenterRightLighter bar: this week so far

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 12 more outlets off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (17 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Oct 26, 202677216 of 4733%
Oct 19, 2026515525 of 4795%
Oct 12, 202614291053 of 47611%
Oct 5, 202615271052 of 47911%
Sep 28, 20261225744 of 4769%
Sep 21, 2026445946149 of 47931%
Sep 14, 2026294733109 of 48023%
Aug 10, 20260213 of 5451%
Nov 24, 20251304 of 1533%
Oct 27, 20252125 of 1743%
Jun 2, 20251416 of 1893%
Apr 14, 202547415 of 2017%
Apr 7, 2025217726 of 19413%
Mar 24, 202525310 of 1945%
Feb 24, 2025617124 of 19712%
Feb 17, 2025817732 of 19416%
Feb 10, 2025715527 of 21413%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Oct 29, 2026 · first reported · Headline from WHEC Rochester

    CNN, MS NOW and Politico ask court to make Trump access order permanent

Background

In February 2025, the White House barred AP journalists from events with Trump after the news agency declined to use "Gulf of America," the new name Trump had ordered for the Gulf of Mexico.[1][6] The AP sued three administration officials, citing freedom of speech,[7] and a federal judge declined to restore its access immediately.[8] In April, the judge ordered the White House to restore the AP's full access, ruling that under the First Amendment the government cannot punish a news organization for the content of its speech.[9] Days later, AP journalists were still barred from an Oval Office event with El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele.[10] In June, a federal appeals court paused the order and let the White House keep the AP out of the Oval Office and other limited spaces for now.[11] The two sides argued the case before the appeals court again in November.[12]

Read the full background (6 more paragraphs)

The White House also took over the press pool, the small rotating group of journalists and photographers who accompany the president. In February 2025 it said its officials "will determine" which outlets cover Trump up close, ending a century in which a pool of independently chosen news organizations did.[2] In November, it restricted reporters from the press secretary's office.[13] In August 2026, after Trump's secret switch of planes was revealed, the White House Correspondents' Association asked for a protocol on extraordinary security circumstances.[14]

On September 18, 2026, Trump banned CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House over what he called unfavorable coverage and "fake news," and threatened that more bans could follow.[3] He later said two "crummy papers" might be next.[15] The other networks in the White House TV pool stopped taking part in pool coverage in solidarity,[16] and the correspondents' association's president, Fox News reporter Jacqui Heinrich, called on Trump to end the ban, citing the First Amendment.[17]

The ban drew criticism and defense. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore accused Trump of using the Constitution as a "suggestion box,"[18] while Vice President JD Vance called the ban "totally appropriate."[19] The Washington Post reported that one of the stories the White House cited to justify it had Vance as its main source.[20]

On September 24, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly found the ban likely unconstitutional and ordered the outlets' access restored.[4] Hours later, the White House kept CNN and MS NOW from covering Chinese President Xi Jinping's arrival for a state dinner,[21] and the TV pool resumed the next day.[16] The outlets asked the judge to block the ban until the case is resolved.[4] On October 1, the White House removed CNN from its pool duty on Trump's trip to Texas and Oklahoma, the second time in a week.[22] The Justice Department argued that Trump can ban the outlets because he determined that they did not meet "minimum requirements of professionalism."[23]

At a hearing on October 8, Kelly called the government's national security defense of the ban "an uphill climb." He extended his order restoring the outlets' access while he decided whether to keep it in place for the rest of the case.[24] On October 13 he extended the order blocking the ban, finding that it violated the outlets' constitutional rights to due process as well as free speech.[5]

The Justice Department said it was investigating five major TV networks for alleged violations after they briefly pulled their pool coverage.[25] In October, CNN warned that it would return to court over its continued exclusion from the press pool on Air Force One and in the Oval Office.[26] Later that month, CNN, MS NOW and Politico amended their suit to seek access to Air Force One and asked the court to make its order permanent, saying the White House was still defying it.[27][28]

Supporting stories (28)
  1. White House blocks AP reporter from Trump-Modi news conference because of Gulf of Mexico fight
  2. White House to decide which news outlets cover Trump, breaking press tradition
  3. CNN and MS NOW reporters back at White House, hours after judge ordered Trump to lift ban
  4. Banned news outlets ask judge court to extend block on White House enforcement
  5. Judge extends order allowing CNN, Politico, MS NOW White House press access
  6. The AP and the Trump administration are due back in court in their fight over White House access
  7. AP sues 3 Trump administration officials, citing freedom of speech
  8. Judge rejects immediately restoring AP’s access to White House but urges government to reconsider
  9. AP wins reinstatement to White House events after judge rules government can’t bar its journalists
  10. Despite a court order, White House bars AP from Oval Office event
  11. US court says Trump can bar AP from key White House events for now
  12. AP and Trump administration argue access case before federal appeals court
  13. White House limits reporters from press secretary’s office
  14. After Trump plane ruse, WHCA presses White House on press pool safeguards
  15. Trump says these 2 ‘crummy papers’ may be next targets of White House ban
  16. The White House network TV pool resumes operations after a dayslong ban of news outlets from grounds
  17. Fox’s Jacqui Heinrich calls for Trump to end White House media ban, cites First Amendment
  18. Moore says Trump uses Constitution like a 'suggestion box' in banning CNN, Politico, MS NOW reporters from White House
  19. Vance defends Trump's media ban as 'totally appropriate'
  20. JD Vance stunningly linked to story behind Trump’s press ban
  21. White House blocks CNN from Air Force One
  22. CNN Booted From Trump's Travel Pool Again — Here's The Legal Gap The White House Is Exploiting
  23. Justice Department asks court to let Trump reinstate White House press ban
  24. Media groups fight president's ban
  25. DOJ investigating TV networks over Trump pool coverage
  26. CNN threatens new legal action, saying it’s still being denied access to Air Force One
  27. CNN, MS NOW And Politico Amend Lawsuit To Challenge Trump Ban On Access To Air Force One And Certain White House Areas
  28. CNN, MSNOW and Politico ask court to make Trump access order permanent

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 43 recorded updates

October 2026

  1. CNN, MSNOW and Politico ask court to make Trump access order permanentHeadline from KAAL Rochester · 14 outlets
  2. CNN, MS NOW And Politico Amend Lawsuit To Challenge Trump Ban On Access To Air Force One And Certain White House AreasHeadline from Deadline · 3 outlets
  3. CNN threatens new legal action, saying it’s still being denied access to Air Force OneHeadline from Bangor Daily News · 26 outlets
  4. Judge extends order allowing CNN, Politico, MS NOW White House press accessHeadline from The Hill · 55 outlets
  5. DOJ investigating TV networks over Trump pool coverageHeadline from Honolulu Star-Advertiser · 51 outlets
  6. Media groups fight president's banHeadline from St. Louis Post-Dispatch · 34 outlets
  7. Justice Department asks court to let Trump reinstate White House press banHeadline from ABC 17 Mid-Missouri · 16 outlets

September 2026

  1. CNN Booted From Trump's Travel Pool Again — Here's The Legal Gap The White House Is ExploitingHeadline from Latin Times · 16 outlets
  2. Banned news outlets ask judge court to extend block on White House enforcementHeadline from The Hill · 36 outlets
  3. Networks to resume TV pool coverage of Trump despite White House block of CNNHeadline from The Hill · 7 outlets
  4. The White House network TV pool resumes operations after a dayslong ban of news outlets from groundsHeadline from WHEC Rochester · 27 outlets
  5. A White House press ban was lifted this week. But the tensions and legal battle aren't over yetHeadline from WCBD News 2 · 10 outlets
  6. White House blocks CNN from Air Force OneHeadline from West Hawaii Today · 54 outlets
  7. JD Vance stunningly linked to story behind Trump’s press banHeadline from NJ.com / Star-Ledger · 5 outlets
  8. Trump drops 4-word prediction on what comes next with press banHeadline from Cleveland Plain Dealer · 3 outlets
  9. What is the White House press pool and how does it work?Headline from CBS News · 2 outlets
  10. David Bozell Breaks Down CNN, MS NOW and Politico’s ‘Ban’ From the White HouseHeadline from NewsBusters · 2 outlets
  11. ‘You should not be here,’ Trump tells CNN at UN as standoff with media outlets persistsHeadline from KAAL Rochester · 30 outlets
  12. We Are All CNN: The Free Beacon Will Never Abandon Our Fellow Journalists In Their Time of NeedHeadline from The Washington Free Beacon · 2 outlets
  13. Trump’s questionable press ban: Letters to the Editor — Sept. 23, 2026Headline from New York Post · 2 outlets
  14. Jon Stewart rips Trump's media ban: 'Have you tried presidenting better?'Headline from The Hill · 7 outlets
  15. Trump’s press ban backfires at White House event as critics crack upHeadline from Cleveland Plain Dealer · 3 outlets
  16. Flashback: That Time When CNN Wondered Whether Biden Should Ban Fox News From the White HouseHeadline from Townhall · 2 outlets
  17. Natalie Harp showed video to Trump before he banned reporters: SourceHeadline from News Nation Now · 6 outlets
  18. Vance defends Trump's media ban as 'totally appropriate'Headline from The Hill · 5 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →