Washington DC [US], September 19 : US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) defended his decision to ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, accusing the outlets of publishing what he described as "fake news" and alleging that they "purposely" portray his administration negatively.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump defended the move, saying, "They're fake news. Uh, and you get so tired of reading and seeing fake news. When you look at MS Now, which used to be MSNBC, which some people call MSDNC, Democratic National Committee, it's fake news."
Trump also criticised Politico, alleging that it received about USD 8 million from the US government during former President Joe Biden's administration.
"It's fake news... And when you look at P, is Politico, I mean, they got a government -- the government under Biden gave them like USD 8 million to keep them afloat. Uh, and the stories they wrote are fake," Trump said.
Trump had announced the immediate White House ban in a post on Truth Social, accusing CNN, MS NOW and Politico of repeatedly reporting "FAKE NEWS" about his administration.
Asked what the ban would mean in practice, Trump said, "I don't want them in my office. I don't want them here. I would say the ban would go as far as you can, and if they could straighten themselves out, you know, if they could straighten themselves out, I'd love it. Look, they're very dishonest people. They write in a very dishonest way."
During his remarks, Trump said other media organisations could also face restrictions but left open the possibility of restoring access.
"There's a lot of news, and there may be others to join them, and maybe they can get better," Trump said.
He also said the country needed a free and fair press.
"But our country has to have honest news. You know, you don't have a country unless you have, as I say, borders, good voting - we're straightening them out, borders are unbelievable. Nobody's come into our country in the last 17 months illegally. But you need borders, and you need fair, free voting. And you know what you need? You need a free press. You need a fair press and an honest press," he said.
Trump further accused the outlets of producing one-sided coverage and claimed that they deliberately sought to portray his administration negatively.
"And CNN... You know how fake their reporting is. It's one-sided. It's never good. Look at the story today about, uh, favoured nations on drugs. We lowered the drug costs by 50, 60, 70%....They won't even put it - if, if they put it on, they will find a reason why that's a negative... It's just cumulative stories over the last few years," Trump said, adding, "They purposely write negative news, and they do that because they want to try and diminish the Republican administration."
Trump denied that a particular recent story had prompted the decision, saying it was based on what he described as cumulative coverage over several years.
"No, it's really just cumulative stories over the last few years. You get sick of it, and you call them and you tell them. I have very good experts like people behind me, Bobby Oz. They call and they try and explain things to. They know that they know it. They know it as well as smart people, but they purposely write negative news, and they do that because they want to try and diminish the Republicans and a Republican administration," Trump said.
Trump then defended his administration's record, citing economic indicators and other policy outcomes.
"And honestly, we've done a fantastic job. Look at the numbers. Look at the economic numbers. We have more money coming into our country today than ever before. We have the highest employment that we've ever had in history. All of these things are the lowest. We have the best poverty rate, the lowest poverty rate in the history of our country, and people are making more money today than they ever had," he said.
"And we do have something that I'm very proud of: Iran will not have a nuclear weapon," Trump added.
Trump was asked several more questions on the issue and repeatedly expressed his frustration with the media.
"I don't have to let them into the people's house," he said.
The move comes amid continuing tensions between the Trump administration and major US media organisations over White House access and press coverage.
Trump previously restricted access for The Associated Press (AP) after it continued referring to the body of water as the "Gulf of Mexico" rather than the administration's preferred "Gulf of America."
The White House barred AP journalists from Oval Office events and Air Force One in February 2025. The AP later challenged the restrictions in court, arguing that its exclusion from press-pool events violated its constitutional rights. A federal district court subsequently issued a preliminary injunction in April 2025.