Trump Declares "Stay Out of the White House" After Criticizing "Fake News"

Just a day after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he would ban media outlets such as CNN that have published critical coverage of the administration and the Republican Party from entering the White House, journalists from those outlets were actually denied access.

According to The New York Times (NYT) and Reuters on the 19th local time, CNN, MSNBC, and Politico stated that their reporters attempted to enter the White House on the morning of that day, but their entry was blocked.

The press passes of White House correspondents including Betsy Klein of CNN, Akela Gardner of MSNBC, and Cheyenne Haslett of Politico were deactivated.

This appears to be a measure following President Trump's declaration that he would ban these outlets from the White House.

The previous day, President Trump announced the ban, claiming that these outlets have reported "fake news" and "deliberately write negative articles to undermine the standing of the Republican Party and the Republican administration."

President Trump warned that other media outlets beyond these could also become targets of the ban.

During a Q&A session with reporters the previous day, he also criticized The New York Times and The Washington Post as "fake news," stating that these newspapers might no longer be provided in the White House.

CNN stated in a statement that President Trump's action is "unlawful," adding that it will continue its reporting on the U.S. government "regardless of any attempts to restrict physical access to the White House and other government facilities or any attempts to interfere with our reporting activities."

MSNBC also stated in a statement, "We will take all necessary steps to defend First Amendment rights and the essential role that an independent press plays in a democracy."

As the conflict between President Trump and mainstream media leads to actual reporting restrictions, controversies surrounding press freedom and the First Amendment are expected to grow even further.

The NYT reported that First Amendment experts believe that because President Trump directly linked the ban to the reporting content of the respective media outlets, it will not be easy to defend if legal battles ensue.

During his first term in 2018, President Trump also banned Jim Acosta, then a CNN White House correspondent, from entering the White House.

However, after a court put the brakes on the move following a lawsuit by CNN, the administration had to lift the measure.

Last year, the White House banned AP from covering the Oval Office and Air Force One on the grounds that AP did not follow President Trump's directive to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, leading to ongoing legal battles sparked by AP's lawsuit.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.