Trump clashes with CNN at UN as White House media ban heads to court

US President Donald Trump opened his visit to the United Nations on Tuesday with a sharp exchange with CNN journalist Kaitlan Collins, underscoring a fast-escalating confrontation between the White House and news organisations it accuses of publishing “fake news”. The clash came days after the administration banned CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House grounds and removed CNN from pool duty.

The dispute has now moved to court. The three outlets filed a joint lawsuit on Monday, asking a judge to declare the administration’s move unconstitutional. The White House had until Tuesday to respond, and a hearing is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

As Trump entered the UN ahead of his speech to the General Assembly, he faced Collins, a frequent target of his criticism. “It’s an honour to be here,” Trump said, before adding, “I’m surprised that CNN is here covering me. You should not be here covering me. You said you weren’t going to cover me.” Collins later said on air that CNN had said no such thing.

The administration had barred CNN from White House grounds days earlier, along with MS NOW and Politico, and had also removed the network from pool duty. CNN was, however, admitted to the UN as regularly credentialed media.

Later on Tuesday, Trump repeated his criticism of media coverage and said negative reporting was dangerous for the country. Asked whether he would allow the outlets back in if the court ruled against the White House, he said, “Well, it probably will, because this is a judge who’s not a particularly fair judge.” He was referring to US District Judge Timothy Kelly, whom he appointed in 2017 and who ordered a CNN journalist’s access restored in a similar case in 2018. “So you never know,” Trump added. “I think we have a right to clean out fake news.”

Trump has made similar remarks since announcing the ban on Friday. He has referred to “purposely negative stories”, but cited no specific reports and has instead generally described coverage he dislikes as “fake news”. The ban and the lawsuit are the latest in a long-running conflict between Trump, particularly in his second term, and media outlets he views as unfavourable. He has responded through the courts, regulatory action and direct attacks on individual reporters, including Collins, whom he most recently criticised in a speech at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

After Tuesday’s exchange, Collins said on air, “We never said we were not going to cover the president. We will do our best to cover him each and every day.” Earlier in the day, the White House’s daily press schedule omitted the US network pool, a break from normal practice. CNN had been designated as the pool network for Trump’s trip to New York under the usual rotation among the five major networks, but the ban removed it from that role.

Other pool members then agreed, in solidarity, not to replace CNN and to suspend all pool coverage until further notice. Other news organisations also acted in support. The Associated Press joined several outlets, including The Washington Post and The New York Times, in deciding not to publish photographs of presidential events on Monday. A sign was also seen in the White House workspace that read: “I stand with AP, CNN, MS NOW, Politico.”

The standoff did not stop Trump from being seen around the world on Tuesday, as UNTV, the United Nations’ official broadcast arm, and pool journalists covering other world leaders carried images of his speeches and meetings. How long the ban and the collective action by media organisations will continue remains unclear.

Robert Thompson, director of Syracuse University’s Bleier Centre for Television and Popular Culture, said the lack of constant coverage could eventually hurt a president who values the spotlight. “This ban is not going to go on forever because he doesn’t want that to happen, anymore than anybody else,” he said. In the short term, he added, audiences were unlikely to feel a lasting impact because there are now many ways to get news. “We are not going to be deprived of important civic information,” Thompson said.

He also said the absence of network crews could affect how events are covered. When Trump inaugurated a helipad at the White House on Monday, the sound of a waiting helicopter drowned out his remarks; television crews usually work to capture clearer audio. Thompson said the more serious issue was Trump’s repeated attack on negative coverage. “These casual remarks, not even disguised, about what we always considered basic freedoms of the press ... that, I think, is a lot more serious,” he said.

In sum, Trump’s UN visit began against the backdrop of a deepening fight with sections of the US media, marked by a public clash with Collins, a legal challenge by three news outlets and a wider show of solidarity by other organisations, even as coverage of his appearances continued through other channels.