White House Bars CNN From Air Force One, Leaving No TV Pool for Trump’s Tennessee Trip
The White House barred CNN from flying on Air Force One on Saturday, September 26, pulling the network from its scheduled slot in the television press pool for President Donald Trump’s trip to Knoxville, Tennessee. No outlet was listed to cover the flight in CNN’s place — meaning there was no television pool coverage at all of the president’s trip to a college football game.
The move is the second time in less than a week that CNN has been pulled from a scheduled pool rotation, and it deepens a First Amendment fight that began on September 18, when Trump announced a ban on CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House. A federal judge blocked that ban on September 24 — but the judge’s order covered White House “hard passes,” not pool duties or Air Force One.
What happened on Friday night
CNN had been scheduled to fly aboard Air Force One on Saturday for Trump’s trip to the University of Tennessee’s game against the University of Texas in Knoxville, as part of the rotating television press pool — a small group of journalists from ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, and Fox who cover the president where space is limited and share their video feeds with all networks.
But the White House scheduling guidance issued Friday night did not list CNN as the primary TV pool representative. CNN anchor Anderson Cooper announced the decision on his show Friday night, with CNN White House correspondent Alayna Treene explaining that the White House’s guidance for Saturday simply omitted CNN. CNN chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins wrote on X: “The White House is barring CNN from flying on Air Force One on Saturday as part of the news outlet’s duties covering the president on behalf of major television networks.” The Washington Post was first to report the White House’s decision.
A written pool report Saturday morning confirmed there was “no TV pool” for the travel. According to reporting via the Associated Press, the White House guidance instead listed Real America’s Voice — a conservative outlet that is not a member of the television pool. Its correspondent, Taylor Mitchell, celebrated the assignment in a video posted on social media: “CNN is not here; we have taken over that responsibility. We are so excited to be here.”
A gap in the judge’s order
The exclusion exploits a gap in the court ruling. On September 24, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a temporary restraining order forcing the White House to restore press credentials to CNN, MS NOW, and Politico after the September 18 ban. But the judge’s order addressed “hard passes” for access to White House grounds — it said nothing directly about pool duties or Air Force One, the AP reported.
The outlets’ lawyer, Theodore Boutrous Jr., told CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper” on Friday that the plaintiffs believe the ruling also covers pool access. The judge gave the news organizations until Monday to file a request for a preliminary injunction, and the temporary order will be in place for 14 days while Kelly considers it.
The full timeline of the dispute: on September 18, Trump announced on Truth Social that he was banning CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House, saying he was “sick of” what he called “fiction and lies” in their coverage. On September 19, journalists from the three outlets were turned away and their press credentials taken by the Secret Service. On September 21, the outlets sued Trump and three White House officials, alleging violations of free speech and due process. On September 23, the TV pool refused to cover the first day of the Trump–Xi summit in solidarity with CNN. Hours after midnight on September 24, Judge Kelly issued the restraining order, and the journalists returned to the White House grounds shortly after noon.
Trump doubles down
Speaking to reporters on Saturday morning, Trump defended the decision. “I want real news. I love an open, free press. What I don’t like is the fake press, where a group like CNN, with few people watching, or MSDNC,” he said, using his name for MS NOW, formerly MSNBC (USA Today). Asked by an MS NOW reporter whether he only wants outlets that support him in the pool, Trump answered: “I want real news, not fake news.”
On Truth Social on Saturday, Trump posted: “FAKE NEWS SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED IN THE WHITE HOUSE!!! IT HAS GONE ON FAR TOO LONG, AT A TREMENDOUS COST TO OUR COUNTRY.” In a second post, he wrote: “Why should perpetrators of FAKE NEWS, like CNN and MSDNC, be allowed access to a very sacred place, the White House? Despite my big Election Win, almost 100% of ‘TRUMP’ coverage is negative, and has been for years.”
Why the TV pool matters
The five-network television pool exists precisely so the public can see the president when only a handful of journalists can physically be present. When CNN was removed from the pool for last weekend’s trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, the other four networks — Fox, NBC, ABC, and CBS — suspended the pool rotation in protest on Monday. Regular coverage resumed only on Friday, with CNN serving in the pool as Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping visited the National Archives.
Journalists’ leaders warned that shutting out the pool cuts the public’s access to independent coverage. “That’s the system that allows the networks to share video of the president with the whole country. If they aren’t there, the pool can’t function,” said White House Correspondents’ Association president Jacqui Heinrich on “Fox News Sunday.” CBS correspondent Weijia Jiang added: “And America cannot have state TV.”
Trump has targeted other outlets in his second term as well: the administration previously banned Associated Press reporters over the AP’s refusal to adopt the “Gulf of America” naming order, a case that is on appeal after a district judge ruled for the AP.
What to watch next
The immediate question is whether the other TV networks will again suspend the pool rotation in solidarity with CNN, as they did last week — and whether Monday’s preliminary-injunction filing will ask the court to explicitly cover pool access. The fight over who gets to cover the president’s travel is now a direct test of how far the White House can go in selecting its own press corps, with a court decision on the next phase due within days.
Related coverage on Sivonex: read about the judge’s September 24 order blocking the White House press ban, and the Trump–Xi White House summit that the TV pool refused to cover in solidarity with CNN.
