Secret Service takes press badges from CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters
Three White House correspondents were turned away at the gate Saturday morning and had their credentials confiscated, a day after Trump posted that he was banning their outlets.
Three reporters walked up to the gate Saturday morning, walked away without their badges, and every question about why was referred back to Trump's own remarks. [137][142][53][58]
The split The socialist left called it "one of his most direct assaults on the First Amendment" [36]; the Center wire tier called it "a dramatic escalation" [138].
Where they partEvery camp agrees Secret Service confiscated the three outlets' badges; they split on whether it is a First Amendment assault or a justified response to 'purposely negative' coverage.
Open the record6 of 10 sides covered · facts and sources
The facts8 points
- Trump told reporters Friday there was no single story behind the ban, describing it instead as a "cumulative" effect of "purposely negative" coverage from CNN, MS NOW and Politico. (NBC News)
- On Saturday, MS NOW's Akayla Gardner, CNN's Betsy Klein and Politico's Cheyenne Haslett were denied entry to the White House grounds and had their press credentials confiscated. (Variety)
- Gardner said a Secret Service officer told her the badge had been deactivated. (NBC News)
Show 5 more factsShow fewer
- Politico Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Greenberger confirmed in a statement that Haslett was denied entry by the Secret Service and her credentials were taken. (NBC News)
- All three outlets issued statements asserting First Amendment rights and said they would pursue legal challenges. (NBC News)
- White House Correspondents' Association President Jacqui Heinrich said the revocations violate the First Amendment; Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press president Bruce D. Brown called the ban unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination. (UPI)
- In Sherrill v. Knight, 569 F.2d 124 (D.C. Cir. 1977), the appeals court held that once the White House opens press facilities, access cannot be denied arbitrarily and must include notice and an opportunity to respond. (Justia)
- In a separate, ongoing case, a federal district judge ruled in April 2025 that the White House could not bar the Associated Press over its refusal to use "Gulf of America"; the D.C. Circuit partly stayed that injunction in June 2025 and heard oral argument on the merits November 24, 2025, with a ruling still pending. (NPR, CourtListener)
ContextA nearly identical dispute is already before the D.C. Circuit: after the White House barred the AP over "Gulf of America" wording, the appeals court in June 2025 stayed the injunction for restricted spaces like the Oval Office while oral argument on the full case was held November 24, 2025, and remains pending. (CourtListener)
How outlets handled it6 source groups · original passages and links
Democratic Socialist
“This is textbook viewpoint discrimination and will be quickly struck down by the courts if challenged.”Bruce D. Brown, president of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, quoted by Truthout · argues the ban is legally doomed under prior First Amendment rulings
“These outrageous attacks only demonstrate how scared he is of an informed public.”Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, quoted by Truthout · casts the ban as retaliation born of weakness, not strength
opens Truthout's account, which stacked press-freedom lawyers and Democratic lawmakers rather than reporting from the gate. It is the only receipt in any camp to print Rep.
Read the original ›Liberal
Brian Tyler CohenSep 20Center
Center-Right
is The Bulwark's framing of the difference between Friday's post and Saturday's gate.
Read the original ›MAGA
Breitbart NewsSep 19is Breitbart's name for the three organizations, used in both its report and its follow-up, and its coverage stayed on Trump's prior friction with individual correspondents rather than on the badges. A third Breitbart piece ran Trump's Oval Office line that "I don't get fair press.
Read the original ›
Identity
“Someone needs to explain to President Trump how the First Amendment works”Tim Richardson, PEN America, quoted by Atlanta Black Star · argues the ban is about punishing scrutiny, not inaccurate reporting
“He couldn’t be any more pathetic”an X user (unnamed), quoted by Atlanta Black Star · captures public backlash mocking Trump's move as insecure retaliation
opens Atlanta Black Star, which centered the exchange in which Trump talked over a female reporter asking about his oath.
Read the original ›
