Donald Trump’s escalating battle with CNN just ran into an unexpected complication — courtesy of his own first lady’s office.
Only days after Trump barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, Melania Trump’s office has approved a CNN reporter to cover one of the first lady’s events on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
And it isn’t just any CNN journalist.
The reporter is Betsy Klein — the senior White House reporter who was personally turned away from the White House over the weekend after Trump’s ban took effect.
CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter revealed the development Monday.
“I’m told, for example, a CNN reporter has already been approved by the office of the First Lady to cover an event with Melania Trump on the sidelines of the U.N. tomorrow,” Stelter reported.
He later identified that reporter as Klein.
That makes the contrast particularly striking.
On Saturday, Klein arrived at the White House only to discover that her credential had been deactivated. According to CNN and subsequent reporting from the Associated Press, her badge was confiscated and she was referred to the White House press office.
Now, the office of the first lady has approved that same journalist to cover Melania Trump’s event in New York.
The credential does not reverse Trump’s White House ban.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico remain barred from the White House, and Stelter stressed that coverage obtained through other credentials will not be part of the official White House pool.
But the development illustrates one of the practical complications created by Trump’s sweeping attempt to restrict the three news organizations.
“We’re going to see reporters get creative,” Stelter said. “That’s what we do sometimes when we have to.”
The first lady’s event is scheduled for Tuesday in New York during the United Nations General Assembly. According to an announcement from Melania Trump’s office, the gathering will focus on her “Fostering the Future Together” initiative and include first spouses from around the world as well as leaders from the technology sector.
The credentialing development comes as Trump is showing no signs of backing away from his confrontation with the press.
On Monday, CNN, MS NOW and Politico jointly sued the Trump administration, arguing that excluding them because of their coverage amounts to unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination.
Trump has defended his decision, insisting that he is targeting what he considers “fake news” rather than attacking press freedom.
The confrontation has also spilled into presidential television coverage.
CNN had been scheduled to handle television pool duties Monday. After the White House prevented the network from carrying out that assignment, ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC said there would be no replacement television pool for presidential events.
That decision already had a visible consequence at Trump’s White House helipad ceremony Monday, where the normal pooled television setup was absent.
And now there is another twist.
While Trump’s White House is fighting CNN in federal court and keeping its journalists outside the gates, Melania Trump’s office has approved one of those same journalists to come cover the first lady.
Notably, the reporter getting through that door is the very CNN correspondent who was turned away from Trump’s White House just days earlier.
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