The White House denied Politico access to Air Force One on Monday, preventing the news outlet from fulfilling its pool responsibilities during President Donald Trump's trip to Nebraska, as confirmed by a Politico spokesperson to MS NOW. Politico was designated as the out-of-town travel print pool for Trump's visit to Grand Island, Nebraska, where he is scheduled to hold a rally with incumbent Republican Senator Pete Ricketts. However, the White House barred Politico from traveling on Air Force One with the president and other pool reporters.
The White House pool is a long-standing agreement between the White House and various news outlets, allowing a small group of journalists to share their observations of the president with the broader press corps, thus enabling smaller outlets to access a daily record of presidential activities without incurring travel costs.
The White House Correspondents’ Association is responsible for setting the daily coverage rotation for the primary print pool. Typically, the White House issues guidance each night regarding the next day's pool coverage. While the White House included in-town pool coverage for Monday in its guidance sent out on Sunday evening, it did not mention the out-of-town pool.
A White House official described traveling with the president on Air Force One as 'a privilege not a right' and asserted that Trump 'will continue to grant an unprecedented level of access to the press.'
The decision to block Politico's access to Air Force One, first reported by CNN, marks a continuation of the ongoing tensions between the federal government and media outlets, including MS NOW, which the president has attempted to exclude from White House coverage. MS NOW, CNN, and Politico have previously sued the White House over access restrictions, with a judge temporarily blocking the ban last month. Despite this, some reporters from these outlets have been denied access to the White House or Air Force One. On Friday, the Trump administration maintained in a new filing that it has the authority to restrict access for certain journalists.
The current legal dispute centers on access to the White House as it existed before Trump's ban took effect on September 18. Although the lawsuit does not directly address pool access, the issue has arisen in related legal filings, as news outlets need White House credentials to participate in the pool, and it is expected to be discussed in a hearing scheduled for Thursday.
The Trump administration's recent action to bar Politico from Air Force One may have stronger legal justification than its ongoing White House ban. In a previous case involving The Associated Press, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that the Trump administration could limit access to certain areas, including the Oval Office and Air Force One, for specific news organizations, as these areas are not considered official forums. This case is still ongoing.