President Trump banned CNN, MSNBC, and Politico from the White House grounds last week, a move we all knew would set off the liberal media. Here we go with their favorite pastime: playing the victim. Trump said their incessant, overwhelming, terrible coverage was the reason they were kicked off campus on September 18, and the ban took immediate effect. The next day, these outlets were doing their hits from the sidewalk. In a show of solidarity with the three targeted networks, other major outlets agreed to suspend pool coverage (via NYT):
MAGA Republicans Slam Fox News as “Traitor Network” After It Joins TV Pool Boycott of Trump
— NewsWire (@NewsWire_US) September 21, 2026
Joint statement from the White House television pool members: pic.twitter.com/ztFIyD6XgJ
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) September 21, 2026
The decision by the television outlets not to participate in the White House pool today in response to Trump's self-declared "ban on the free press" will leave the most TV-addicted president in our history without major network cameras recording his every utterance and movement.
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) September 21, 2026
#BREAKING: Networks stand with the banned CNN, refusing to send a pool crew to cover Trump.
— Insider Wire (@InsiderWire) September 21, 2026
Major television networks on Monday agreed to suspend their pooled coverage of President Trump after the White House refused to allow CNN to serve as a pool representative on Monday.
The move is an extraordinary escalation of an unfolding showdown between the Trump administration and the White House press corps, which began last week when the president barred journalists at CNN, MS NOW and Politico from entering the White House grounds. Those three outlets said on Monday they would sue to regain access.
Despite Mr. Trump’s years of lawsuits and threats against the news media, archrival news organizations have rarely undertaken this kind of collective action.
Five networks — ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC — have long shared the responsibility of providing television coverage of presidential events, splitting the financial costs and distributing footage that is carried by news organizations worldwide. The networks perform their duties on a rotation, and CNN had been slated to provide coverage for Mr. Trump’s travel on Monday to the United Nations General Assembly.
It is extremely unusual for a president to travel or hold public events without being accompanied by representatives from the television pool. The president’s activities on Monday are still expected to be covered by print, radio and wire journalists, along with still photographers.
“Effective today, the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the President,” Bryan Boughton, the Washington bureau chief at Fox News, wrote in a note to television pool members on Monday, which was obtained by The New York Times. (Mr. Boughton is the acting chair of the television pool consortium; the networks rotate the chairmanship on a quarterly basis.)
The primary White House TV pool is made up of 5 networks: CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, and FOX. We take turns covering POTUS for pooled events and trips, and then share footage with the other 4 plus other outlets.
— Weijia Jiang (@weijia) September 21, 2026
Today there is no tv pool, so Trump won’t have a crew with him at UNGA. pic.twitter.com/3l93eSlu5y
And to the shock of no one, CNN, MSNBC, and Politico filed a lawsuit. Fox News joining the boycott also hasn't been well received by some. The media also seems to be blaming Natalie Harp, whom these folks have an unhealthy obsession with, for the initial media ban. She’s an aide, not Rasputin. And these clowns wonder why their asses got kicked off campus.
President Donald Trump's close aide Natalie Harp showed him clips of media coverage last week before he banned Politico, CNN and MS NOW from the White House, people familiar with the matter said. CNN has reached out to the White House for comment. https://t.co/ZmfHN2lsvD
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) September 21, 2026