White House blocks CNN from Air Force One pool flight to Tennessee
CNN will not fly on Air Force One for Donald Trump's trip to Tennessee on Saturday, 26 September 2026. The White House pulled the network from its scheduled turn in the TV pool rotation.
The TV pool is a small rotating crew that travels with the president and shares pictures and sound with all broadcasters. A CNN spokesperson confirmed the network was removed from that rotation, according to Deadline. One crew flies. Every news organisation uses the material.
The Tennessee flight is the latest turn in a week-long dispute over access. The White House removed CNN from the TV pool rotation on the Sunday after banning the network, Politico and MS NOW from White House grounds last week. CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox, the four other networks in the rotation, then declined to step in for CNN. That left pool coverage suspended for most of the week, as reported by The New York Times.
Coverage resumed on Friday when CNN was reinstated. That followed a federal judge's order on Thursday to restore the banned outlets' credentials. The judge found a violation of due process rights.
CNN had first reported on 25 September that the White House would bar it from Saturday's flight as part of its pool duties, according to CNN. The network had already missed one major assignment. It had been scheduled to cover Trump's trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly on Monday but was unable to provide pool coverage, Reuters reported.
The wider ban also involved press passes. CNN, MS NOW and Politico said the White House confiscated their teams' passes after Trump announced the ban. The three news organisations signalled they may contest the decision on First Amendment grounds, Reuters reported.
The White House Correspondents Association issued a response to the ban. The dispute echoes an earlier fight over pool access. In February, the Trump administration banned the Associated Press from the White House pool, including Oval Office events and travel on Air Force One. The Associated Press later sued White House officials, and the Associated Press, Reuters and Bloomberg News issued a joint statement warning that limiting access threatens press freedom.
