The administration of US President Donald Trump has barred CNN journalists from traveling aboard the presidential aircraft, Air Force One. The incident occurred ahead of the American leader's Saturday trip to Knoxville, Tennessee, triggering a new wave of tension in relations between the White House and major US media outlets.
Chronology of Confrontation and Court Rulings
This decision was made just a day after a federal court ruled in favor of media companies. Last week, the Trump administration imposed severe restrictions, prohibiting representatives of CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from being on the White House grounds. In response, the affected media outlets filed lawsuits accusing the administration of violating the US Constitution and freedom of the press.
On Thursday, federal judge Timothy Kelly issued a preliminary injunction temporarily obliging the White House to restore full journalist access to the residence. Following this, CNN staff were able to resume work, and on Friday, the television pool resumed standard coverage of the head of state's activities, seemingly returning the situation to a legal framework.
Exclusion from the Presidential Pool
Despite the court order, the White House decided to bypass the rules regarding trips. CNN is part of the White House television pool alongside other major broadcasters—ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox News. This rotation system was created due to limited space on board Air Force One and during presidential events so that one channel could shoot footage and share it with colleagues.
However, in the schedule for Saturday's trip to Tennessee, CNN was not included in the pool representative list, and no replacement television network was appointed. CNN management confirmed this information to The Washington Post journalists, while the White House press office declined to provide prompt comments on the situation.
Contradictory Data
Contradictions in the coverage of events concern both the legal interpretation of court rulings by the Trump administration and the scale of the boycott by the media community. Sources from The Washington Post and Jerusalem Post indicate that the White House is intentionally ignoring the spirit of Judge Timothy Kelly's ruling, using the logistical constraints of onboard travel to circumvent admission restrictions. At the same time, according to additional sources, other US television networks showed solidarity by refusing to provide a replacement to cover the trip instead of the sidelined CNN, which threatens the very operation of the rotation pool under current conditions.
