CNN has been barred from flying on Air Force One to cover President Donald Trump during his upcoming trip to attend a college football game in Knoxville, Tennessee. The White House has replaced CNN with Real America’s Voice News, a conservative outlet, according to guidance from the White House. This decision is part of ongoing tensions between Trump and certain media outlets.
Last week, Trump announced a ban on CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from White House grounds. The White House press pool, which includes five major broadcast outlets, typically takes turns recording and distributing video. In response to the ban, the other four providers—Fox, ABC, CBS, and NBC—declined to participate in the pool until access for the barred outlets is restored.
The three barred news outlets have filed a lawsuit against Trump, claiming that the White House's actions violate their First Amendment rights. They stated, "Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference."
US District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a temporary ruling early on Thursday, striking down the ban and stating that the government's argument lacked factual support for the claim that the outlets were barred to protect national security. Kelly noted, "Defendants offer no declarations or other support—classified or unclassified—explaining how any of the reporting they identified in their letters to Plaintiffs damaged the national security."
The judge's ruling specifically addressed press passes to the White House and did not directly mention pool duties or Air Force One. Earlier on Friday, the attorney for the news outlets, Theodore Boutrous Jr., stated on CNN’s "The Lead with Jake Tapper" that the plaintiffs believe the judge’s ruling also pertains to the issue of pool access. The seat on the presidential jet that was designated for CNN has traditionally been reserved for a member of the US network video pool, which Real America’s Voice News is not part of.