US President Donald Trump confronted a CNN journalist at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday, a day after major TV networks sued his administration for barring them from the White House grounds.
At the United Nations headquarters in New York ahead of his address, he faced CNN's Kaitlan Collins, a frequent target of his criticism.
“It’s an honour to be here,” Trump told reporters before turning to the CNN journalist. “I’m surprised that CNN is here covering me. You should not be here covering me. You said you weren’t going to cover me.”
Deep Dive
Why did Trump confront CNN journalist Kaitlan Collins at the UNGA?
What are the implications of the lawsuit filed by CNN, MS NOW, and Politico against Trump?
How has the White House responded to the media's ban and subsequent legal actions?
“The United Nations allowed us in, sir,” Collins replied.
Trump's White House media ban
CNN, along with MS NOW and Politico, was banned from White House grounds and removed from the television pool covering presidential events.
{{/usCountry}}CNN, along with MS NOW and Politico, was banned from White House grounds and removed from the television pool covering presidential events.
{{/usCountry}}It was later reported that the White House TV pool would not replace CNN for Trump’s UNGA trip after ABC, CBS, Fox News and NBC also declined to take over its role. Trump’s UN events will still be covered by other journalists, but without the usual shared TV video feed.
CNN though, on Tuesday, was admitted to the UN as regularly credentialed media. “We are credentialed by the United Nations to cover the General Assembly,” Collins said on X.
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Following her exchange with Trump at the UN, Collins said on air that CNN had not promised to stop covering the president. “We never said we were not going to cover the president. We will do our best to cover him each and every day.”
TV networks sue Trump administration
CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued the Trump administration on Monday. The US TV networks asked a federal court in Washington, DC, to restore their access to the White House.
The outlets said that the administration’s decision violated their First Amendment rights and said their credentials were revoked without notice or process because of objections to their reporting. A hearing was scheduled for Wednesday.
Trump on lifting the ban
Trump earlier rejected the characterisation that his administration was attacking the free press. On Truth Social, he said the White House was targeting “FAKE NEWS”.
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“The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish. It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS. It is a threat to our National Security, and must be stopped, NOW,” Trump wrote Monday.
Trump said the affected outlets published “purposely negative stories”. Later on Tuesday, Trump said negative coverage could be dangerous for the country.
Asked whether he would allow the outlets back into the White House if the court ruled against his administration, Trump said, “Well, it probably will, because this is a judge who’s not a particularly fair judge.”
He was referring to US District Judge Timothy Kelly, whom Trump appointed in 2017 and who had previously ordered the restoration of a CNN journalist’s access in a similar case in 2018.
“So you never know,” Trump added. “I think we have a right to clean out fake news.”
TV networks boycott White House coverage
CNN had been scheduled to provide the television pool feed for Trump’s trip to New York for the UN General Assembly. But after they were banned from the White House, ABC, CBS, Fox News and NBC declined to replace it, HT reported earlier.
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Bryan Boughton, who runs the Fox News Washington bureau and was serving as television pool chair, said in an email that the pool would not cover events designated for pool coverage. “There will be no replacement pool put in place.”
The White House TV pool normally consists of CNN, ABC, CBS, Fox News and NBC. The networks share the costs of covering the president, rotate responsibility for organising coverage and distribute footage to other media organisations.
Trump’s helipad speech drowned out
The ban seemingly backfired on Monday when Trump launched a new helipad on the White House South Lawn. A helicopter drowned out his remarks throughout the ceremony, leaving viewers unable to hear him clearly on the White House livestream.
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Trump was seen cutting a ribbon and speaking with construction workers, but his comments were largely inaudible. “This is one example of it backfiring just a little bit,” conservative outlet Newsmax said.
On Monday, the White House launched ‘Trump TV’, an online streaming platform featuring videos and highlights of the Trump administration.
During his first term, Trump attempted to revoke the press credentials of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta and Playboy correspondent Brian Karem. Federal judges later ordered their access restored.