CNN barred from Trump trip aboard Air Force One/Image: ANI
Since the start of Trump’s second administration in 2025, the White House has determined which outlets participate in the pool. CNN had been scheduled to accompany Trump to Tennessee, where he is due to attend a college football game.
Two people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post that CNN was excluded from the presidential flight. CNN has been blocked from travelling with President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One for his Saturday trip to Knoxville, Tennessee, just days after a federal judge ordered the administration to restore the network’s White House access. The pool is made up of rotating journalists who travel with the president and provide written and multimedia coverage to news organisations that may not have reporters present at every presidential event.
Previously, the White House Correspondents’ Association coordinated the rotation. The network said on Friday that it was expected to travel with the president. The decision has also raised fresh questions over the future of the White House television pool, which briefly resumed its normal coverage on Friday.
Fresh dispute follows court order
Trump has repeatedly criticised what he calls the “fake news”. In a joint statement issued on Monday, the White House television pool said the public had a “vital interest” in receiving accurate and independent information about the government. “No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting,” the pool said. The administration’s lawyers, meanwhile, argued in court that the restrictions were connected to national security concerns, citing media reports that involved “sensitive” and “classified” information.
CNN’s exclusion from Air Force One comes less than a week after Trump’s administration was ordered to restore White House access to CNN, MS Now and Politico. The three news organisations had challenged the administration’s decision to revoke their access, arguing that the move violated the First Amendment. The dispute began after the White House removed access for the outlets, citing their reporting about Trump’s presidency. The decision triggered a protest from members of the White House press pool, who temporarily suspended their video coverage of Trump. US District Judge Timothy Kelly subsequently ordered the Trump administration to restore White House access for CNN, MS Now and Politico. Later that day, CNN’s editorial team and an MS Now reporter were prevented from covering a state dinner held to commemorate Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.
The outlets’ journalists attempted to enter the White House on Thursday morning following the ruling but were not admitted until around midday.