Judge orders Trump to restore CNN, Politico, MS NOW access; ban continues at state dinner
After a court ruling, the White House briefly restores reporter access then blocks outlets again from Xi Jinping dinner.
What to know
- A Trump-appointed federal judge ruled Trump's ban on three major news outlets from the White House violated the First Amendment, finding the national security justification baseless—one targeted story came from a White House press call with VP Vance.
- The White House initially complied with the court order, then defied it hours later by blocking the same outlets from a state dinner with Xi Jinping, restricting CNN to non-editorial staff only.
- Trump has posted on social media that the outlets are biased and refusing coverage to harm him before the midterm elections.
The dispute Whether Trump's ban is a necessary response to biased reporting or a dangerous authoritarian suppression of press freedom protected by the First Amendment. · positions read across 1 posts and comments
Trump's actions are an authoritarian assault on press freedom and the First Amendment that must be challenged.
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“By trying to silence several media outlets, he has attacked the freedom of the press and the First Amendment and won himself a fightback with decreased coverage by protesting news outlets.”
Letter writer · NY Post Letters to Editor ↗
The outlets have shown bias against Trump and don't report accurately on his administration.
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“It's been obvious for a long time that MS NOW, CNN and Politico don't have America's interests at heart.”
Letter writer · NY Post Letters to Editor ↗
“[t]he Media is trying to cover up how well things are going before the Midterms, just to help Democrats.”
Donald Trump, President · Social media (cited in Heather Cox Richardson Substack) ↗ · Sep 24
Donald Trump PresidentJudge Timothy Kelly U.S. District JudgeCNN, Politico, MS NOW Media outletsJ.D. Vance Vice President
How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts
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White House defies court order, blocks outlets from Xi state dinner
Despite the court ruling, the White House blocks CNN and MS NOW from sending reporters to the state dinner with Chinese leader Xi Jinping that evening. CNN is permitted only an audio producer and cameraman, not editorial staff. Trump posts on social media that the outlets are refusing coverage because they don't want him to get credit.
“They again said that we were specifically denied access and that they were not letting in the CNN editorial presence.”
— Kristen Holmes, CNN Senior White House Correspondent · source -
O
Dr. Richardson’s Letter this morning illustrates what true insanity looks like. ——- The US is in grave danger. This madman must be removed from office. —— https:// heathercoxrichardson.substack. com/p/september-24-2026 # HeatherCoxRichardson # RemoveTrump
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background
Judge Kelly grants media outlets' request, orders ban lifted — U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, whom Trump appointed in 2017, rules in favor of the media outlets and orders Trump to stop the ban. Kelly challenges the White House's national security argument, noting the targeted stories were "routine" and that one was based on a press call from the White House itself—with the anonymous official later identified as Vice President J.D. Vance.
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Media outlets request emergency hearing to challenge ban
Lawyers for CNN, Politico, and MS NOW file for an emergency hearing, arguing the administration had "already repeatedly violated the Court's Order."
“Is the real issue that Trump is a snowflake and can't stand any criticism, so he uses his power to try to silence the news?”
— Letter writer, NY Post reader · source -
background
Trump bans CNN, Politico, MS NOW from White House campus — President Trump issues an order banning members of CNN, Politico, and MS NOW from the White House complex, citing national security concerns.