Things are looking pretty rocky between the White House and the press. On Friday night, the administration confirmed that CNN won’t be tagging along on Air Force One for President Trump’s Saturday trip to Knoxville, Tennessee. Instead, the administration swapped in Real America’s Voice News, a conservative outlet, for the flight. President Trump is heading out to catch the University of Tennessee versus University of Texas football game.
This move comes right after a chaotic week for journalists. Just recently, reporters from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico were actually allowed back into the executive complex after a judge temporarily blocked the White House from keeping them off the grounds. Even though they’re back on site, the administration is making it clear that access to the plane is a whole other vibe.
The judge’s ruling from Thursday only covered the White House grounds, leaving the debate over pool access on Air Force One totally up in the air. Real talk: the spot usually reserved for CNN on the plane is technically for members of the U.S. network video pool, and Real America’s Voice News isn’t actually part of that rotation.
Before this latest development, there was a brief moment where things felt like they were getting back to normal. The U.S. network video pool—made up of five major outlets that rotate sharing footage—was back in action at the National Archives earlier Friday for a visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. While that felt like a W, this flight restriction shows the situation is still super tense and lowkey fluid.
Why it matters
This ongoing tug-of-war over who gets to cover the President isn't just internal media drama; it’s a major First Amendment issue. With courts involved and outlets standing in solidarity with one another, the question of who gets a front-row seat to the administration's actions is hitting a breaking point.
