Trump Tells Banned CNN Reporter at UN: 'You Shouldn't Be Covering Me Here'

U.S. President Donald Trump, upon encountering a CNN reporter who has been banned from the White House, snapped, "You shouldn't be covering me here either."

According to The Washington Post, CNN White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins asked President Trump about American public opinion on the war with Iran as he arrived at the UN General Assembly on September 22 (local time).

President Trump reacted by saying, "I'm surprised CNN is here to cover me," to which Collins explained, "The UN permitted us to enter."

Collins repeated the same question, but President Trump ignored it, repeating, "You shouldn't be covering me here. You said you wouldn't cover me. You shouldn't be covering me."

On September 18, President Trump posted on Truth Social announcing that he was revoking White House press credentials for CNN, MSNBC, and Politico.

Addressing criticism that the move violated the First Amendment guaranteeing freedom of the press, President Trump claimed on September 21, "The White House is not attacking freedom of the press, but rather 'fake news,' which has grown like a cancer in America."

Writing on Truth Social, President Trump emphasized, "Fake news is corrupt, intentional, pervasive, completely coordinated, and totally out of control. It is a threat to our national security and must be stopped immediately."

In response to the ban, CNN, MSNBC, and Politico filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

They also filed an emergency motion seeking to restore their White House press access.

The court is scheduled to hear the outlets' emergency motion on September 23.

On September 22, President Trump told reporters that the judge assigned to the case is "not a particularly fair judge," while adding that if the court invalidates the ban, he would allow the three outlets back in.

However, he added that the right to kick them out should belong to him.

In front of reporters, President Trump also voiced frustration that CNN reporters and others barred from the White House had shown up at the UN.

"They came. I knew they would," he said sarcastically. "Do you think they won't show up tomorrow when I'm with President Xi Jinping? But they said, 'We're not going to cover Trump.'"

He repeatedly justified his media restrictions, stating, "There is so much fake news. If the news is fake and actually dangerous, I think it's right for us to eliminate it."

(Photo: Getty Images)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.