Press and media
View from briefing·center
in brief
Trump’s ‘shenanigans’ and the First Amendment
This is what it looks like when the rule of law is a sometimes thing.
The White House on Sept. 19 barred journalists from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House grounds. The news organizations filed a lawsuit on Sept. 21, and the four networks beside CNN in the TV pool, in a show of solidarity, announced a suspension of coverage. As a result, a good deal of Chinese President Xi’s visit went unseen. Except in China.
On Sept. 24 — last Thursday — a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order restoring access for the barred journalists. The White House was initially unresponsive until the judge raised a legal eyebrow. Journalists were granted access; pool coverage resumed Friday. Order restored.
Or was it?
On Saturday, the White House refused to let CNN fly on Air Force One for a Trump campaign appearance in Tennessee. The network pool once again suspended coverage.
Nonetheless, the press pool did provide TV coverage the next day, and agreed it would make day-by-day decisions, depending on the White House actions.
Last week, attorney Ted Boutrous told U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, “I’m very concerned that even if the court grants a TRO [temporary restraining order] on due process grounds, the shenanigans will continue.”
No kidding.
(Sept. 29, 2026)
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Status: The Press Pool Whiplash
The New Yorker: The President vs. the Press
Guardian: Blanche defends Trump’s White House media ban: ‘It is a privilege, not a right’
Columbia Journalism Review: ‘Flashing Red’