Trump calls media ban from the White House ‘ban on the free press’

“They’re very dishonest people,” he added.

Jacqui Heinrich, senior White House correspondent for Fox News and president of the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA), has slammed the ban, saying it goes against the US Constitution.

“The Constitution protects the freedom of the press from government interference. That protection does not depend on whether the President likes a news organisation’s coverage, agrees with its reporting, or approves of the questions its journalists ask,” Heinrich said in a statement.

“This is about more than the rights of journalists. It is about the right of the American people to receive a full and independent account of the activities, policies and decisions of whoever occupies the nation’s highest office.”

The president said it plainly in the Oval Office, describing his own planned action as a “ban on the free press.”

The Constitution protects the freedom of the press from government interference. That protection does not depend on whether the president likes a news organization’s…

— WHCA (@whca) September 18, 2026

Trump today said he is banning news outlets CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, accusing them without specifics of reporting “fiction and lies”.

Trump added that “other Fake News Media Outlets [are] to follow” but did not say which.

“I am proud to announce that, effective immediately, I am banning Fake News CNN, MSNOW … and Politico … from the White House as a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!” Trump said on his Truth Social network.

Trump did not say what had prompted the ban but added that “media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America”.

It is extremely rare for US Presidents to bar news outlets from the White House altogether, although Trump banned a CNN reporter in his first term and Richard Nixon put restrictions on the Washington Post for its reporting on the Watergate scandal.

But Trump’s second administration has put stricter controls on reporters, including taking control of which journalists can cover events as part of the “pool” admitted to tight spaces such as the Oval Office and Air Force One.

Last year Trump barred the Associated Press from some events because of the news agency’s decision to continue referring to the “Gulf of Mexico” – and not the “Gulf of America” as decreed by Trump.

Today’s decision to ban certain media outlets has been met with widespread criticism, with many people, including law experts, describing it as an assault on the free press.

Trump just reaffirmed his intention to ban CNN, Politico, and MS NOW from the White House. Such a move would be an assault on long-honored principles of a free press. I have often joined in the criticism over the bias of these outlets, but barring disfavored media from the White…

— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) September 18, 2026

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press called the ban “flatly unconstitutional”, while multiple US politicians have also criticised the ban and called on the Republican Party to protect freedom of press.

A shameful, cowardly, and undemocratic move from a fascist administration that is attacking the free press to avoid accountability.

Press credentials for these news outlets must be immediately reinstated. https://t.co/2TOhHXzFlS

— Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (@RepPressley) September 18, 2026

I’m done being shocked at anything this president does to tear down our Constitution. But GOP, when will YOU stand up for freedom of the press, free speech and democracy and stop kowtowing to this destructive maniac?https://t.co/GLrmiGLkIP

— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) September 18, 2026

Press freedom is a right protected under the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

My fellow Americans: Please direct your attention to this matter for just a moment. Allow this to sink in. The President of the United States of America just said he wants to ban the free press. He said he doesn’t want them in his office, which by the way is the Oval Office in… pic.twitter.com/KqLflDf9Ep

— Maria Shriver (@mariashriver) September 18, 2026

– Additional reporting by AFP

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