Folks, I almost spilled my coffee reading this one. The White House has been excluding CNN from President Donald Trump’s trips on Air Force One, disrupting a decades-old tradition of pooled TV coverage. I mean, what’s next? Are they going to start picking and choosing which reporters get to attend press conferences based on who has the best hair?
The White House has been doing this for a while now, and CNN is not happy about it. In fact, their attorney, Ted Boutrous, is warning that the network will take additional legal action if the White House continues to prevent its news crews from covering the president. Boutrous wrote in a letter to the Justice Department that “these efforts to retaliate and discriminate against CNN based on the content of its news coverage are mistaken, counterproductive, and unlawful.” Oh boy, it sounds like someone’s got their undies in a twist.
The whole thing started when Trump banned CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House a month ago. The banned news outlets sued, alleging violations of the First and Fifth Amendments. A federal judge intervened and restored access, but the Justice Department is still justifying the ban in court. And now, the White House is trying to single out journalists by blocking CNN from traveling on Air Force One. It’s like they’re playing a game of musical chairs, but instead of chairs, it’s press access.
The administration is relying on an ongoing court case involving The Associated Press, which filed suit last year when Trump blocked AP reporters from Air Force One and other areas with limited space for the press pool. Trump took action against The AP because they didn’t immediately start using his new name for the Gulf of Mexico. I kid you not, folks. It’s like he’s trying to rewrite the map of the United States.
In June 2025, an appeals court panel partially lifted the stay obtained by The AP, but the ruling was “non-binding and non-precedential,” so it’s not binding on other cases. Boutrous pointed this out in his letter, and also showed that the Oval Office and Air Force One have become the primary places “where the president interacts with the press by briefing reporters and answering questions.” It’s like the White House is trying to control the narrative, but it’s not working.
The White House has not explicitly said that it’s following its AP playbook in its actions against CNN, but it’s pretty obvious. In fact, they’ve provided “no written notice and offered no explanation” for excluding CNN from recent trips. The Justice Department didn’t respond to a CNN reporter’s request for comment, but a White House official said “the Fake News has no place demanding a spot in the President’s Oval Office.” Oh, bless their hearts.
The five major TV networks take turns providing pooled TV coverage of the president’s events and trips, and news organizations worldwide rely on the footage for their own reports and shows. But when CNN was next in the TV pool rotation, they were left off the White House’s list, signaling that they were “being barred from fully performing its pool duties.” The other major networks have declined to fill in when CNN has been excluded, showing some solidarity.
The demand letter noted that CNN has participated in the TV pool and covered presidents in the Oval Office and on Air Force One for 45 years. Boutrous wrote that “those spaces belong not to any particular president or administration but to all Americans, and CNN and other members of the press serve as surrogates for the public when covering the White House.” It’s like they’re trying to remind the White House that they’re not above the law.
The demand letter may foreshadow new legal filings in the ongoing lawsuit by CNN, MS NOW, and Politico. Boutrous wrote that CNN would like the administration to “confirm in writing” that they’ll abandon any policy of excluding CNN from the Oval Office and Air Force One. They’ve given them a deadline of Thursday at 5 p.m. Eastern, so we’ll see what happens next.
In conclusion, it’s clear that the White House is trying to play games with the press, but it’s not going to work. CNN is prepared to fight for their rights, and they’re not going to back down. As Boutrous wrote, “if these actions persist, CNN will have no choice but to return to the court to defend its rights, and it is prepared to fight as long as is necessary to secure them.” So, grab some popcorn and sit back, folks, because this is going to be a long and entertaining ride. And who knows, maybe one day we’ll have a president who actually understands the First Amendment 🙄.
Armchair patriot. Believes in the free market, cold beer, and that there’s always a guy named George behind every CNN segment.
Former remote-throwing champion turned #1 couch commentator on liberal panic in the media. Born in Texas (or so his mug says), he earned a degree in Fake Newsology & Beer Philosophy from YouTube University.
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