MS NOW journalists denied White House entry after Trump ban threat
MS NOW journalists were turned away from the White House grounds on the morning of 19 September 2026, one day after US President Donald Trump said he would bar the news organisation from the complex.
White House correspondent Akayla Gardner said her pass failed at the magnetometers. The scanner flashed red. An officer told her the badge had been disabled.
An MS NOW photographer was also refused entry that morning and had a badge confiscated. A third member of the team, a producer, was allowed through at the same checkpoint.
The denials were reported by the cable news organisation, formerly known as MSNBC, in a statement on 19 September, according to Deadline. Gardner described it as the first enforcement action to follow Trump’s threat.
MS NOW said it would take “any and all steps necessary” to defend its First Amendment rights, meaning the US constitutional protection for a free press, and the role of independent journalism. The organisation did not detail what legal or formal steps it was considering.
The incident followed a message posted by Trump on 18 September 2026 on Truth Social. He said he intended to ban MS NOW, CNN and Politico from the White House over what he claimed was constant fake news reporting. In the same post, he wrote that media outlets should not constantly write or report fiction and lies when covering the President, the Trump Administration, or the United States.
For viewers, this means a change in where the coverage comes from. Gardner said MS NOW staff had been admitted to the grounds the previous day without issue. The team on 19 September had to report from outside the gates, with a correspondent and photographer shut out while a producer continued working inside.
