White House Excludes CNN From Trump’s Tennessee Trip

Attorney General Todd Blanche defended President Donald Trump’s decision to exclude CNN from the Air Force One television press pool for Trump’s Tennessee trip, arguing that the president can choose which reporters travel and that inaccurate, one-sided coverage could pose a national security concern. CNN had been scheduled to provide rotating pool coverage, but the White House replaced it with conservative outlet Real America’s Voice; other major networks declined to take CNN’s place, leaving no television pool for the trip. The exclusion followed a judge’s temporary order restoring White House credentials for CNN, MS NOW and Politico after finding they had been revoked without constitutionally adequate due process. The judge said the ruling covered access to White House grounds, not Air Force One pool assignments, questioned the administration’s national security rationale and said it had offered little support; Blanche did not identify specific reporting that posed a threat. The outlets have sued, arguing that the restrictions violate their constitutional rights.