Donald Trump’s White House blocked CNN from covering an Oval Office event on Thursday, November 5, despite the network being scheduled to provide television footage for five major American broadcasters.
CNN chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins publicly challenged the decision, pointing out that excluding one network had consequences for all five.
“CNN was scheduled to be today’s TV pool. But the White House blocked us from being allowed in for the president’s event in the Oval Office that’s now underway,” Collins wrote on X.
“That means none of the five networks will have audio or video of his remarks.”
The television pool normally operates on a rotating schedule involving CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News. Each network takes turns providing footage that can be shared with the others.
But CNN was excluded from Thursday’s assignment, and no replacement television pool crew was designated.
That meant the five networks were left without the independent pooled footage they would ordinarily receive from the event.
Collins highlighted the unusual consequence in a follow-up post.
“Which seems self-defeating for an event that the president presumably wants to have TV coverage.”
The White House responded through its Rapid Response 47 social media account, pointing to a government-produced livestream of the event.
“If only his remarks were broadcasted online, free to anyone who wanted them,” the account wrote.
“Oh, wait.”
The administration’s response established that Trump’s remarks were publicly available through its own channels. But that did not resolve the dispute over CNN’s scheduled role as the independent television pool broadcaster.
The event itself involved Trump signing a proclamation designating the Oval Office, Outer Oval Office and Cabinet Room as a national monument.
The president said the measure was intended to protect the historic rooms from major changes by future administrations.
“It will not be allowed to be touched by anybody, destroyed, ripped down by stupid people, in order to build something in a slightly different shape,” Trump said.
The decision to exclude CNN was the latest development in an ongoing confrontation between the administration and several major news organizations over access to the president.
In September, the White House announced restrictions affecting CNN, MS NOW and Politico, accusing the outlets of inaccurate and misleading coverage.
The news organizations challenged those restrictions in federal court, arguing that the administration was retaliating against them because of their reporting.
A federal judge subsequently ordered the restoration of their White House press credentials, finding that the organizations were likely to succeed on constitutional claims concerning their treatment.
But the ruling did not settle every question about access to presidential events and the rotating press pool.
CNN has continued to argue that the administration is excluding its journalists from assignments they would ordinarily receive under the established rotation.
According to reporting by TheWrap, CNN was omitted from Thursday’s White House schedule despite being the designated television pool outlet.
The dispute has implications beyond one network.
The press pool system allows a relatively small group of journalists and camera crews to cover presidential activities in locations where space is limited, then share their reporting and footage with other news organizations.
When the scheduled television pool outlet is excluded without a replacement, other broadcasters can lose access to independently recorded footage as well.
The White House maintains that news organizations do not have an unrestricted right to attend every presidential event and has defended its authority over access arrangements.
CNN and the other outlets challenging the restrictions argue that the government cannot use access decisions to punish reporting it dislikes.
Thursday’s Oval Office event brought those competing positions into focus again.
Trump’s remarks were available through the administration’s livestream, but the normal independent television pool was absent.
And Collins made sure the public knew exactly why CNN said that had happened.
About the Author
His consistent rebuke of freedom of Speech, extends to designated news crews. If he has nothing to fear, they should be granted access. His denial, time after time, demonstrates his fear, and cowardness in facing questions that he does not want the nation to hear, or can not answer. Perhaps his lack of mental acuity shows his growing incapacity to answer without distracting from his goal of demolishing our historical landmarks, golf courses, libraries or memorial site names, bc his true goal is to be seen as being greater than the sacrifices and deaths of true heroes. When in truth, he is our nations greatest shame and embarrassment before the eyes of the world. He sees himself as a god to be worshipped, yet he represents the goals of the ungodly.
What are you so afraid of, mr president? A greater intelligence of those who know the right questions to ask? Do blue tsunamis, really scare you that much?
I think he recognizes that his free ride is over, and that scares him.
The upside of this is that the o
Orange ogre won’t get the attention he craves; the downside is that he’s still in office.
I think that is pretty “on-the-mark.”. Bullseye!