Every News Outlet Trump Has Threatened to Exclude From the White House - Newsweek

President Donald Trump announced that he is banning news outlets CNN, Politico and MSNOW "effective immediately" from the White House for what he infamously labels "fake news" reporting.

The president has a notoriously tainted relationship with the media, routinely calling out outlets during rallies and on social media, and has a long-running pattern of confronting female journalists. Trump has also filed numerous lawsuits against media outlets including ABC News, CBS News and The New York Times.

In his post to Truth Social on Friday, the president said: "I am proud to announce that, effective immediately, I am banning Fake News CNN, MSNOW (who recently changed their name from MSNBC due to lack of viewership and credibility!), and Politico (The recipients of an illegal and ridiculous $8 Million Dollar subscription, an All Time Record, directly from the United States Government, under Crooked Joe Biden, in order to keep them 'alive.' Seems like corruption to me!), from the White House as a result of their constant 'reporting' FAKE NEWS!"

Trump continued, saying outlets should not be allowed to publish "fiction and lies" while covering the president, the administration or the country. He also warned that there will be "Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow."

When reached for comment on Friday, the White House referred Newsweek to the president's comments in the Oval Office.

In a statement to Newsweek from a CNN spokesperson, the outlet said that it stands fully behind its White House team's reporting.

"We have a right under the U.S. Constitution to do that reporting without hindrance or interference from the government. Should the ban which President Trump threatened go ahead, it would be an illegal assault on that fundamental and constitutionally- protected right."

Politico told Newsweek that it will continue to report fairly on the current White House and future ones.

"We will vigorously defend our First Amendment rights against any attempt to restrict them. The claims that Politico received government subsidies are false and have been thoroughly debunked."

MSNOW told Newsweek they have no comment.

While talking to reporters from the Oval Office on Friday, the president said that no one thing sparked the so-called ban, but it is due to "cumulative stories over the last few years," adding, "You get sick of it."

When asked about who may come next, the president said in part, "The New York Times is fake news, Washington Post is fake news...both doing very poorly by the way." He also called The Post "disgusting."

The president's media ban is not new.

He barred The Associated Press from Air Force One, the Oval Office and other events, seemingly in response to the outlet not renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America." The Associated Press reports that it filed a lawsuit, which remains ongoing.

Dave Aronberg, former Palm Beach County state attorney, told Newsweek on Friday when asked if the president has legal grounds for the ban, "No, not if he is excluding them because of their coverage."

Aronberg continued, "The White House has substantial discretion to manage press access, space constraints and logistics, but the First Amendment does not permit the government to single out news organizations for unfavorable treatment because it dislikes their reporting or editorial viewpoint.

"That principle was front and center in the recent Associated Press litigation, where a federal judge ruled that although the White House does not have to give every journalist access to every event, once it opens an event to some journalists it cannot exclude others because of their viewpoint," he added.

Jameel Jaffer, executive director at Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, told Newsweek in a released statement on Friday: “The First Amendment prohibits the president from punishing journalists because he doesn’t like their coverage, just as it prohibits him from punishing universities because he doesn’t like the courses they offer, or from punishing law firms because he doesn’t like the clients they represent."

Jaffer continued: "With so many courts having ruled against him on exactly this point, you’d think President Trump would have learned this lesson by now. If President Trump means to expel these news organizations from the White House press pool, his action is doubly unconstitutional because the press pool is a ‘public forum’ under the First Amendment, which means the president can’t exclude journalists from it on the basis of their viewpoints.”

Last year, the Trump Administration rolled out a new media strategy, removing the AP, Reuters and Bloomberg from maintaining a regular spot in the presidential press pool.

Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson reacted to Trump's announcement on X, saying in part that every American should be "scared."

"The media needs to band together to stop placating this insanity. Or we will lose what America stands for," she added.

National Press Club President Mark Schoeff Jr. said in part in a lengthy statement posted to X, "President Trump is continuing his relentless and disturbing effort to bully the news media. This simply can’t happen in a democracy that has depended on a free and independent press to cover the country’s leaders for 250 years."

"The message today’s action sends is alarming. It tells other news organizations to soften their coverage. It tells reporters to think twice before asking difficult questions, or else lose access. And it leaves the American people knowing less about the government that serves them," the statement concluded.

Jacqui Heinrich, White House Correspondents' Association President, said in a statement, "The president said it plainly in the Oval Office, describing his own planned action as a 'ban on the free press.' The Constitution protects the freedom of the press from government interference. That protection does not depend on whether the president likes a news organization’s coverage, agrees with its reporting, or approves of the questions its journalists ask."

"This is about more than the rights of journalists. It is about the right of the American people to receive a full and independent account of the activities, policies and decisions of whoever occupies the nation’s highest office," Heinrich added. "The WHCA stands in defense of our colleagues at CNN, MSNOW, and Politico who are being singled out for doing their jobs."

The Trump Administration also attempted to enact parts of a media policy that limited reporters’ access to the Department of Defense.

The Pentagon and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were sued by The Times over the credentialing changes they said violated reporters’ constitutional rights to due process and free speech. Earlier this year, a federal judge ultimately sided with The Times.

In a statement to X, Hegseth reacted to Trump's announcement, saying, "The Department of War fully supports President Trump’s decision to kick CNN, MSN̶B̶C̶NOW and Politico to the curb so they can publish their Fake News from outside the White House. We are grateful these outlets already chose to self-deport from the Pentagon. They endangered our troops with false stories, leaks, and trafficked in fiction and lies about the President, our Warriors, and their mission."

Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Samantha Beech and Gray R. Thomas