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White House bars CNN from covering upcoming Trump trip

September 26, 2026

CNN said its journalists have been barred from accompanying President Donald Trump on his upcoming trip to Tennessee. The episode marks the Trump administration's latest salvo against the major cable news network.

The CNN booth is seen in the basement of the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington on Sept 21, 2026
Trump banned reporters from CNN from White House grounds earlier this week, with main networks having suspended coverage in solidarity as wellImage: Bonnie Cash/UPI Photo/Newscom/picture alliance

American news broadcaster CNN said its journalists were not allowed to board Air Force One for a planned trip with President Donald Trump on Saturday.

CNN was scheduled to travel on Air Force One to Knoxville, Tennessee, where Trump was expected to watch a college football game.

The news organization was to be the representative of the TV press pool for the weekend, meaning that it would cover the president and share video and information with the four other big networks that are part of the press pool.

CNN was replaced by Real America's Voice News, a conservative outlet.

The episode represents the latest showdown between the Trump administration and media networks that the president believes to be unfavorable in their coverage.

Trump bans media outlets from White House

08:51

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Trump bans CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from White House

Trump last week barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House after he said the networks report "fiction and lies."

Major TV networks, including DW, then cut off their pooled coverage of the president in solidarity. 

A federal judge  temporarily struck down the ban in a ruling on Thursday after the outlets filed a lawsuit.

But the order from the judge addressed "hard passes" to the White House grounds and didn't directly address pool duties. 

Edited by: Rana Taha

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