Trump treads further on free speech with new journalist bans

<figure> <img alt="" data-caption="President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on the tarmac before boarding Air Force One. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) | Getty Images" data-portal-copyright="Getty Images" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/gettyimages-2294614323.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;crop=0,0,100,100" /> <figcaption> President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on the tarmac before boarding Air Force One. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) | Getty Images </figcaption> </figure> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">On Friday, the president threatened to ban CNN, MS Now, and <em>Politico </em>from the White House. It could have just been another one of his Truth Social fever dreams, but it turns out it's very real. All three publications were turned away from the White House this morning, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/09/19/nx-s1-5974854/trump-cnn-msnow-politico-ban" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.npr.org/2026/09/19/nx-s1-5974854/trump-cnn-msnow-politico-ban">NPR reports</a>, marking an escalation in the administration's war on the First Amendment.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph"><em>Politico </em>tried to get to the bottom of it, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/19/inside-the-white-house-media-ban-01085126" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/19/inside-the-white-house-media-ban-01085126">asking <em>why now</em>?</a> It reports that "many senior [White House] staff were surprised by the directive" (what's new?), and that it was done "while chief of staff Susie Wiles was out of town." Apparently he's been talked down from this kind of sweeping mov …</p> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/policy/997805/trump-cnn-msnow-politico-ban">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>