Trump says he is ‘banning’ CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he is banning journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, accusing them of reporting “fiction and lies” without identifying any specific reporting that prompted the move.

The announcement was made in a Truth Social post on Friday afternoon, in which Trump wrote that the decision is “effective immediately”.

In his post, Trump said the media “should not continuously write or report FICTION and LIES when covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration or the United States of America”, adding that “other Fake News media will follow”.

As of Friday afternoon there was no indication the administration had taken concrete steps to enforce the ban. CNN’s team remained at the White House, while the three media organizations had yet to react officially.

According to Reuters, the decision marks a sharp escalation of Trump’s years-long war with the press. Earlier this year he removed the Associated Press from the White House’s tight press pool following the dispute over the name “Gulf of America” — the AP sued the administration and the case is ongoing in court.

Trump has also sued the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times for defamation, while the Department of Justice issued and then withdrew subpoenas against journalists from both outlets.

The announcement comes at a politically delicate moment: a Marquette poll this week showed Trump’s approval at 37%, the lowest of his second term, while Republican Senate candidates face tight races in traditionally Republican states such as Iowa, Alaska and Kansas.

Source: USA Today