Press pool dispute escalates as White House cuts CNN from Air Force One travel

The White House has barred CNN from traveling on Air Force One this weekend. It's another chapter in President Trump's fight with the press, and it appears there will be no TV pool coverage today.

SCOTT SIMON, HOST: The standoff between the White House and the press continues. CNN says it's being blocked from accompanying President Trump aboard Air Force One on a trip to Tennessee today. This latest twist comes just hours after the Trump administration restored access for network's journalists to the White House, along with Politico and MS NOW, as required by a federal judge. NPR's media correspondent David Folkenflik joins us. David, thanks so much for being with us. DAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE: Pleasure. SIMON: Last weekend, president banned all three outlets from the White House - said he didn't like their coverage. They sued. Yesterday, they were allowed back. What does CNN say has happened now? FOLKENFLIK: So what we're told now is that last night, the White House made clear that CNN's crew would not be allowed to take the trip with the president and his entourage on Air Force One today to Tennessee for a big college football match - Tennessee versus the University of Texas. You know, smart thing to do, perhaps, right in the midterm. You're trying to appeal to voters of all sides. That's not exactly the same as White House access. In this moment, CNN's crew was serving as the video pool. What happens is five big television networks share the cost and logistical burden of... SIMON: Yeah. FOLKENFLIK: ...Providing complete coverage of what the president's doing in all sort of public elements of his life so that you don't have 300 news organizations having to pay for that and do it. They're being denied the White House pool, which means this is - sort of exploded the ability for that shared video to occur. SIMON: Who's replacing CNN today? FOLKENFLIK: So right now, all of the other members of the pool are refusing to step in. So CNN is joined by CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox News, owned by the president's Rupert Murdoch. But they share the burden logistically and the cost of basically kitting out a crew every day to follow the president in public spaces. Not everybody can fit in or afford to go on Air Force One all the time, so the pool is a way of sharing that. So those guys are all stepping away. So what you have instead are kind of these other outfits which are not part of the pool and are essentially aligned with the president. You have RAV, which is Real America's Voice, manning this flight to Tennessee today. And in town, you have LindellTV. That's named for Mike Lindell, the MyPillow guy, who started to get very into Trump world politics and is, you know, covering him from that direction. SIMON: And what does the White House or President Trump say? FOLKENFLIK: He has been having a lot to say this week - a lot on his chest. I think today we're maybe 38 days out from the midterms, and yet, he's posted already twice, as we speak this morning - 6:31 a.m. Eastern time Trump, or his aides, posted, why should the perpetrators of fake news, like CNN and MS DNC - referring to MS NOW - be allowed access to a very sacred place? And he says later on in this posting, access is a privilege, not a right. Then at 8:30 a.m. Eastern this morning, Trump - and he signed it himself - he said, fake news should not be allowed in the White House. This gone on far too long at a tremendous cost to our country. SIMON: What are some of the arguments CNN, MS NOW and Politico have made in their lawsuit? FOLKENFLIK: So they offered a two-pronged argument, both based on the Constitution. And the first is the First Amendment. That is, you cannot have the federal government punishing somebody or something, an institution, a network, because he doesn't like what they have to say. And the president is right. Let's be really clear - access to the White House is a privilege and not a right. But at the same time, it's a thing where, once granted, it can't be revoked because he doesn't like the way they do their jobs. And that's an important thing. Secondly, there's a due process issue. Due process is part of the Fifth Amendment, and that is, you have to let people know ahead of time that you're going to do something and why. And actually, you have to make their chance to appeal. And the judge said that was the reason on which he was deciding the suit, but that, of course, when the First Amendment is implicated in the denial of due process, it makes it all the more important. SIMON: How is it that the president's relationship with the press has grown so openly hostile? I mean, he gets a lot of coverage from the press. FOLKENFLIK: He loves the press. He wants nothing more than to bathe in the (inaudible) but he wants it on his terms. After all, he came to prominence as a figure in the New York tabloids, often of controversy, but stoking it himself. He came to national recognition, of course, as a reality show star, and he has enjoyed the attention of the press, as well as making the press his No. 1 opponent in many ways. And right now, he's using all the levers of power available to him through investigations of Federal Communications Commission, through his own private lawsuits, through, you know, figuring out who to give favors to, like the Ellison family, now the controllers of both Paramount CBS, but also now, soon to be, Warner Bros. and CNN, ironically enough. SIMON: NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik. David, thanks so much. FOLKENFLIK: You bet. Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

SCOTT SIMON, HOST: The standoff between the White House and the press continues. CNN says it's being blocked from accompanying President Trump aboard Air Force One on a trip to Tennessee today. This latest twist comes just hours after the Trump administration restored access for network's journalists to the White House, along with Politico and MS NOW, as required by a federal judge. NPR's media correspondent David Folkenflik joins us. David, thanks so much for being with us. DAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE: Pleasure. SIMON: Last weekend, president banned all three outlets from the White House - said he didn't like their coverage. They sued. Yesterday, they were allowed back. What does CNN say has happened now? FOLKENFLIK: So what we're told now is that last night, the White House made clear that CNN's crew would not be allowed to take the trip with the president and his entourage on Air Force One today to Tennessee for a big college football match - Tennessee versus the University of Texas. You know, smart thing to do, perhaps, right in the midterm. You're trying to appeal to voters of all sides. That's not exactly the same as White House access. In this moment, CNN's crew was serving as the video pool. What happens is five big television networks share the cost and logistical burden of... SIMON: Yeah. FOLKENFLIK: ...Providing complete coverage of what the president's doing in all sort of public elements of his life so that you don't have 300 news organizations having to pay for that and do it. They're being denied the White House pool, which means this is - sort of exploded the ability for that shared video to occur. SIMON: Who's replacing CNN today? FOLKENFLIK: So right now, all of the other members of the pool are refusing to step in. So CNN is joined by CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox News, owned by the president's Rupert Murdoch. But they share the burden logistically and the cost of basically kitting out a crew every day to follow the president in public spaces. Not everybody can fit in or afford to go on Air Force One all the time, so the pool is a way of sharing that. So those guys are all stepping away. So what you have instead are kind of these other outfits which are not part of the pool and are essentially aligned with the president. You have RAV, which is Real America's Voice, manning this flight to Tennessee today. And in town, you have LindellTV. That's named for Mike Lindell, the MyPillow guy, who started to get very into Trump world politics and is, you know, covering him from that direction. SIMON: And what does the White House or President Trump say? FOLKENFLIK: He has been having a lot to say this week - a lot on his chest. I think today we're maybe 38 days out from the midterms, and yet, he's posted already twice, as we speak this morning - 6:31 a.m. Eastern time Trump, or his aides, posted, why should the perpetrators of fake news, like CNN and MS DNC - referring to MS NOW - be allowed access to a very sacred place? And he says later on in this posting, access is a privilege, not a right. Then at 8:30 a.m. Eastern this morning, Trump - and he signed it himself - he said, fake news should not be allowed in the White House. This gone on far too long at a tremendous cost to our country. SIMON: What are some of the arguments CNN, MS NOW and Politico have made in their lawsuit? FOLKENFLIK: So they offered a two-pronged argument, both based on the Constitution. And the first is the First Amendment. That is, you cannot have the federal government punishing somebody or something, an institution, a network, because he doesn't like what they have to say. And the president is right. Let's be really clear - access to the White House is a privilege and not a right. But at the same time, it's a thing where, once granted, it can't be revoked because he doesn't like the way they do their jobs. And that's an important thing. Secondly, there's a due process issue. Due process is part of the Fifth Amendment, and that is, you have to let people know ahead of time that you're going to do something and why. And actually, you have to make their chance to appeal. And the judge said that was the reason on which he was deciding the suit, but that, of course, when the First Amendment is implicated in the denial of due process, it makes it all the more important. SIMON: How is it that the president's relationship with the press has grown so openly hostile? I mean, he gets a lot of coverage from the press. FOLKENFLIK: He loves the press. He wants nothing more than to bathe in the (inaudible) but he wants it on his terms. After all, he came to prominence as a figure in the New York tabloids, often of controversy, but stoking it himself. He came to national recognition, of course, as a reality show star, and he has enjoyed the attention of the press, as well as making the press his No. 1 opponent in many ways. And right now, he's using all the levers of power available to him through investigations of Federal Communications Commission, through his own private lawsuits, through, you know, figuring out who to give favors to, like the Ellison family, now the controllers of both Paramount CBS, but also now, soon to be, Warner Bros. and CNN, ironically enough. SIMON: NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik. David, thanks so much. FOLKENFLIK: You bet. Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

The standoff between the White House and the press continues. CNN says it's being blocked from accompanying President Trump aboard Air Force One on a trip to Tennessee today. This latest twist comes just hours after the Trump administration restored access for network's journalists to the White House, along with Politico and MS NOW, as required by a federal judge. NPR's media correspondent David Folkenflik joins us. David, thanks so much for being with us. DAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE: Pleasure. SIMON: Last weekend, president banned all three outlets from the White House - said he didn't like their coverage. They sued. Yesterday, they were allowed back. What does CNN say has happened now? FOLKENFLIK: So what we're told now is that last night, the White House made clear that CNN's crew would not be allowed to take the trip with the president and his entourage on Air Force One today to Tennessee for a big college football match - Tennessee versus the University of Texas. You know, smart thing to do, perhaps, right in the midterm. You're trying to appeal to voters of all sides. That's not exactly the same as White House access. In this moment, CNN's crew was serving as the video pool. What happens is five big television networks share the cost and logistical burden of... SIMON: Yeah. FOLKENFLIK: ...Providing complete coverage of what the president's doing in all sort of public elements of his life so that you don't have 300 news organizations having to pay for that and do it. They're being denied the White House pool, which means this is - sort of exploded the ability for that shared video to occur. SIMON: Who's replacing CNN today? FOLKENFLIK: So right now, all of the other members of the pool are refusing to step in. So CNN is joined by CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox News, owned by the president's Rupert Murdoch. But they share the burden logistically and the cost of basically kitting out a crew every day to follow the president in public spaces. Not everybody can fit in or afford to go on Air Force One all the time, so the pool is a way of sharing that. So those guys are all stepping away. So what you have instead are kind of these other outfits which are not part of the pool and are essentially aligned with the president. You have RAV, which is Real America's Voice, manning this flight to Tennessee today. And in town, you have LindellTV. That's named for Mike Lindell, the MyPillow guy, who started to get very into Trump world politics and is, you know, covering him from that direction. SIMON: And what does the White House or President Trump say? FOLKENFLIK: He has been having a lot to say this week - a lot on his chest. I think today we're maybe 38 days out from the midterms, and yet, he's posted already twice, as we speak this morning - 6:31 a.m. Eastern time Trump, or his aides, posted, why should the perpetrators of fake news, like CNN and MS DNC - referring to MS NOW - be allowed access to a very sacred place? And he says later on in this posting, access is a privilege, not a right. Then at 8:30 a.m. Eastern this morning, Trump - and he signed it himself - he said, fake news should not be allowed in the White House. This gone on far too long at a tremendous cost to our country. SIMON: What are some of the arguments CNN, MS NOW and Politico have made in their lawsuit? FOLKENFLIK: