CNN Left Off Air Force One as White House-Press Dispute Escalates

WASHINGTON — CNN was excluded from President Donald Trump’s Air Force One trip to Tennessee on Saturday, adding another chapter to an escalating dispute between the White House and several major news organizations.

 

 

 

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The White House decision came just days after CNN, MS NOW and Politico had been barred from White House grounds, creating a broader dispute over presidential media access.

CNN had been scheduled to participate in the television pool accompanying Trump aboard Air Force One for his trip to Knoxville, Tennessee, according to reporting by the Associated Press.

Trump traveled to Tennessee to attend a college football game between the University of Tennessee and the University of Texas at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville.

Instead of CNN, White House guidance listed Real America’s Voice News, a conservative outlet, for the trip, according to the Associated Press and other reports.

The decision was particularly significant because CNN is one of five major television organizations participating in the presidential network video pool that shares coverage among broadcasters.

The pool exists because reporters cannot always travel independently with the president, particularly aboard Air Force One or during events where physical space is limited.

Under the traditional arrangement, participating networks rotate responsibility for recording and distributing presidential video to other news organizations that cannot directly attend an event.

The latest decision followed a federal judge’s temporary order restoring CNN, MS NOW and Politico journalists’ access to White House grounds after the administration previously excluded them.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly’s order addressed the organizations’ White House credentials, but it did not specifically determine who should participate in presidential travel pools or accompany Trump aboard Air Force One.

That distinction became central to the latest dispute because the White House maintained that the court’s order did not directly address the television pool arrangement.

CNN’s attorney, Theodore Boutrous Jr., had argued publicly that the court ruling should also cover the network’s ability to perform its pool duties.

The White House did not immediately provide a detailed public explanation for excluding CNN from Saturday’s flight, according to reports from the Associated Press and Reuters.

The dispute began earlier in September when Trump announced restrictions against CNN, MS NOW and Politico, criticizing their reporting and describing it as unfavorable to his administration.

The three organizations subsequently sued the administration, arguing that the restrictions violated constitutional protections and improperly targeted news organizations because of their reporting.

The White House has rejected that interpretation, arguing that press access to government facilities and certain presidential events can be regulated by the administration.

The conflict also affected the broader television pool, with other participating networks temporarily suspending presidential pool coverage after CNN was removed from assigned duties.

Coverage briefly resumed Friday when CNN participated in video coverage of Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the National Archives during Xi’s Washington visit.

That temporary return suggested the court ruling had allowed some normal White House media operations to resume, although the Air Force One dispute demonstrated that significant disagreements remained.

The episode now forms part of a wider legal and political dispute over how much control the executive branch should exercise over journalists covering the president.