White House Blocks CNN From Air Force One Despite Court Order to Restore Its Access

Major broadcast networks resumed White House pool coverage on September 29, 2026, after a federal judge's temporary restraining order followed Trump's September 18 ban on CNN, Politico and MS NOW, Time reported. But the White House said it would decide CNN's participation in the press pool "day by day" and had already blocked CNN from traveling aboard Air Force One, despite the court order requiring restored access.

A White House official defended the arrangement, saying Trump is "the most accessible President in history" and asking, "if a reporter walks into an interview with their headline already decided, why do they need to be in the room?" The day-to-day discretion effectively lets the administration keep excluding an outlet the court ordered it to stop excluding, testing how far a restraining order can be stretched before it is enforced as written.

The restraining order expires October 8. CNN, Politico and MS NOW have asked the court to make the restoration of their pre-September 18 access permanent; the outcome remains undecided.