Major U.S. TV Networks Are Stopping Coverage Of Events Featuring Trump
- 21.09.2026, 21:01
ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News, and NBC issued a joint statement.
Leading U.S. television networks have agreed to suspend their joint coverage of U.S. President Donald Trump due to the ban on their journalists’ access to the White House.
This was reported on Monday, September 21, by The New York Times.
This marks yet another escalation in the standoff between the Trump administration and reporters covering the White House. The conflict intensified last week when the president barred journalists from CNN, MSNBC, and Politico from entering the White House grounds.
On Monday, these three media outlets announced that they intend to file a lawsuit to regain access to the presidential residence.
Five leading U.S. television networks—ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News, and NBC—have long collaborated to provide television coverage of events involving the U.S. president. They shared costs and distributed video footage used by news organizations around the world, according to the NYT.
Representatives from the networks took turns serving as the television pool, and this time, CNN was supposed to be responsible for covering Donald Trump’s trip to New York for the UN General Assembly.
The absence of a television pool at the president’s public events is an unusual situation. At the same time, journalists from print media, radio, news agencies, and photojournalists will continue to cover Trump’s activities.
“Starting today, the television pool will not cover events involving the president that are designated as pool events,” — Brian Bouton, Washington bureau chief for Fox News and currently acting head of the television pool, told consortium members.
According to him, the decision stems from the White House’s stance, which barred CNN from fulfilling its duties as part of the pool. A new television pool will not be formed, and other formats for journalists’ work will remain unchanged.
Subsequently, ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News, and NBC issued a joint statement emphasizing the importance of independent coverage of government activities.
“The public has a vital interest in access to accurate and independent information about its government. No government should restrict the media’s activities simply because it does not like how they cover events,” the networks’ statement reads.
On September 18, Trump accused CNN, MSNBC, and Politico of spreading “fake news” and stated that he did not want to see journalists from those outlets in the White House. The U.S. president also left open the possibility of imposing similar restrictions on other media outlets.
CNN called the administration’s decision an unlawful interference in the work of journalists, while MSNBC and Politico stated that they intend to defend their constitutional rights and continue to cover White House activities.
Last year, the Donald Trump administration excluded Reuters, the Associated Press, and Bloomberg News from the permanent pool of journalists covering the president, allowing them only occasional attendance at briefings. A legal proceeding is currently underway regarding the AP.