President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that he is barring CNN, MS Now and Politico from the White House, while also signaling that additional media organizations could face similar action.
The announcement, as described in the source material, was made “effective immediately,” though the practical status of the ban remains unclear. According to media sources cited in the material, CNN and MS Now journalists were still inside the Executive Mansion at the time of reporting.
Trump’s post read: “I am proud to announce that, effective immediately, I am banning Fake News CNN, MSNOW (who recently changed their name from MSNBC due to lack of viewership and credibility!), and Politico (The recipients of an illegal and ridiculous $8 Million Dollar subscription, an All Time Record, directly from the United States Government, under Crooked Joe Biden, in order to keep them ‘alive.’ Seems like corruption to me!), from the White House as a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!”
The punctuation, capitalization and wording are Trump’s, according to the source material.
The president also indicated that the list may expand, writing that “other Fake News outlets” would follow. He did not identify which outlets could be next.
Politico was included in Trump’s statement alongside CNN and MS Now. His claims about Politico, including the reference to an “$8 Million Dollar subscription” and his characterization of it as “illegal” and “ridiculous,” were presented in the post as his own assertions.
Status of the ban remains unclear
Despite Trump’s announcement, the source material notes that CNN and MS Now journalists were said to remain in the Executive Mansion at the time, raising uncertainty over what the president’s use of “banning” means in practice or how the restriction is being implemented.
The source material also says there was “no real indication” why the ban was announced at this particular moment. CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, described in the material as a frequent subject of Trump attacks, did not appear to have asked the president a question that day.
The development places several major news organizations at the center of another confrontation between Trump and media outlets he labels “Fake News.” For now, the confirmed facts are limited to Trump’s Truth Social announcement, his stated targets — CNN, MS Now and Politico — his promise that other outlets may be added, and the reported uncertainty over whether journalists from CNN and MS Now had actually been removed from White House grounds.