White House excludes CNN from Air Force One press pool, replacing network with conservative outlet
The White House indicated Friday night that CNN would be excluded from the press pool aboard Air Force One for President Donald Trump's trip to Knoxville, Tennessee, on Saturday, marking the latest restriction on media access in an escalating dispute with constitutional implications.
The network's seat was assigned instead to Real America's Voice News, a conservative streaming and cable channel that launched in 2018 and gained White House Press Corps access in 2025. Trump is scheduled to attend a college football game between the University of Tennessee and the University of Texas.
Decision follows court order restoring White House credentials
The decision came hours after journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico returned to the White House grounds following a federal court order. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a temporary restraining order early Thursday striking down Trump's ban on the three outlets, though his ruling specifically addressed credentials for White House grounds access and did not directly mention Air Force One or press pool assignments.
Air Force One maintains 13 designated press seats divided among three wire reporters, four photographers, three network television seats, one radio correspondent, and two print reporters. The network television pool traditionally rotates among five major U.S. broadcast networks: ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC. Real America's Voice is not part of this established rotation.
Historical context of White House press pool system
The White House press pool system, created by the White House Correspondents' Association, has chronicled U.S. presidents daily for nearly a century, dating back to Franklin Delano Roosevelt's administration in the 1930s and 1940s. The association itself was founded on February 25, 1914, during Woodrow Wilson's presidency in response to concerns that a congressional committee might select which journalists could attend presidential press conferences.
Theodore Boutrous Jr., the attorney representing the three news outlets, stated earlier Friday on CNN that the plaintiffs believe Judge Kelly's ruling covers pool access as well as White House credentials. Boutrous did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday night regarding the Air Force One decision.
Legal reasoning behind the court order
In his ruling, Kelly stated that the Trump administration's ban likely violated constitutional due process because the White House did not dispute that the outlets received no notice or opportunity to be heard before their credentials were revoked. The legal reasoning echoed a 2018 decision by the same judge, who ordered the White House to restore credentials for then-CNN reporter Jim Acosta after they were revoked, also citing due process violations.
The broader context includes a significant shift in how the press pool operates. In February 2025, the White House announced that its press office would select pool participants, changing from the previous system where the White House Correspondents' Association had chosen members since the organization's founding in 1914.
Recent pool operations and network solidarity
For several hours Friday, the U.S. network video pool operated normally for the first time since the ban, with CNN airing footage of Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping touring the National Archives. The pool consists of five major broadcast outlets that take turns shooting and sharing video with the broader press corps.
When the White House banned CNN from the grounds, the other four pool providers declined to participate in a show of solidarity. A person familiar with the pool operations, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the fluid situation, confirmed Friday that pool activities had resumed.
Brian Stelter, CNN's media analyst, posted on social media that the network had a pool assignment for the National Archives event and that the White House had approved its credentials. CNN itself declined to comment directly, referring instead to its news coverage.
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for additional details on the Air Force One seat assignment. The White House Correspondents' Association also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Pattern of media restrictions
Throughout his second term, Trump has increasingly targeted media outlets whose coverage he finds objectionable, taking administrative or legal action against several organizations. Early last year, he banished Associated Press reporters from White House events over the wire service's refusal to exclusively use his executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America." That case remains on appeal after a federal district judge ruled in AP's favor.
The press pool was established decades ago to ensure a rotating roster of journalists always travels with the president, distributing reports and imagery to the broader press corps and holding the nation's chief executive accountable on behalf of the American public.
