White House bars CNN from Air Force One press pool for Trump’s Tennessee trip

The White House is barring CNN from flying aboard Air Force One on September 26 as part of its duties covering US President Donald Trump on behalf of major television networks.

CNN had been scheduled to travel with Trump to Tennessee for a college football game as part of the White House television press pool, a small rotating group of journalists that covers the president in situations where space is limited and shares information with other television networks, the channel reports. 

The move was announced in a White House note on the night of September 25 outlining the president’s schedule. No other outlet was listed as replacing CNN, meaning there will be no television pool coverage of Trump’s trip.

The decision is the latest development in the Trump administration’s dispute with CNN and the broader White House press corps.

Last week, Trump announced that CNN, MS NOW and Politico would be banned from the White House. The move also prevented CNN from flying aboard Air Force One and carrying out its scheduled pool duties when Trump travelled to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.

A judge later blocked the administration from enforcing the ban on the three outlets and ordered the White House to restore the credentials of the affected reporters. The status of the White House television pool, however, remained less clear.

After CNN was excluded, Fox, NBC, ABC and CBS refused to perform pool duties until regular access was restored. Regular coverage resumed on September 25, with CNN participating in the pool as Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the National Archives.

By Sabina Mammadli