White House turns away MS NOW staff after Trump bans three outlets
MS NOW journalists were turned away at the White House gates on Saturday after President Donald Trump ordered three news organisations out of the building.
The enforcement on 19 September 2026 followed an announcement the previous day that CNN, MS NOW and Politico were banned with immediate effect, according to Variety. Staff from the three outlets had been allowed to remain on the grounds on Friday after the announcement. The block took hold on Saturday morning.
MS NOW said some of its journalists were denied access to the grounds on Saturday. White House correspondent Akayla Gardner said her White House badge failed to scan. The reader flashed red.
An officer told Gardner the badge was disabled and asked her to hand it over. An MS NOW photographer was also denied entry and had a badge taken. A producer got through.
The sequence means one team was split at the gate. Two staff members lost access. One was still able to work inside.
Trump had publicised the ban on Friday on social media. The notice was published as post 117293599348325006 on his @realDonaldTrump Truth Social account, as seen in the post on Truth Social. It said the ban applied to CNN, MS NOW and Politico and was effective immediately.
The wording in that notice called CNN “Fake News CNN”. It also said MS NOW had recently changed its name from MSNBC because of a lack of viewership. That description was Trump’s own characterisation in the announcement.
Trump later addressed the decision at an Oval Office briefing on Friday afternoon. He said no single story had triggered the ban. He described it instead as a cumulative response to what he called purposely negative coverage.
For viewers, the practical effect is access. White House passes decide who can report from inside the building, attend briefings in person and question officials face to face. Without a working badge, correspondents and photographers must work from outside the gates.
What makes this stand out is the uneven start. The order was described as immediate on Friday, yet Friday passed without removals. Enforcement began on Saturday, and even then it did not apply to every member of the affected team.
