Vance defends Trump over press ban and removal of ‘propaganda’ from the White House

Por Jasmine Fernández — – World RSS Feed

The vice president pushed back against free speech concerns, claiming the banned outlets retain full ability to cover the executive branch from outside White House grounds

Jasmine Fernández in Portland Monday 21 September 2026 22:00 BST

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Vance says CNN, MS NOW and Politico aren’t banned from White House, just stripped of ‘special access’

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Vice President JD Vance on Monday defended President Donald Trump’s decision to revoke White House access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico, calling the move “totally appropriate” and denying that the administration was targeting press freedom.

Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews on Monday while traveling to North Carolina, Vance said that the administration was not silencing journalists but re-evaluating who receives privileged entry to executive facilities.

“He’s not banning media outlets,” Vance said. “What he’s doing is saying ‘we’re not going to give you special access to the White House if you engage in what is effectively propaganda.’ If you’re going to engage in what is effectively far-left propaganda, why would a Republican White House give you special access?”

When challenged on how the revocation of credentials aligns with First Amendment protections, Vance argued that the outlets still retain the capability to cover executive branch developments from outside.

“They can still get the public reports. They can still, of course, talk to people inside the administration and outside of the administration,” Vance said, telling reporters that the companies “could still report on the Trump White House.”

Vice President JD Vance pushed back against criticism of President Donald Trump’s decision to strip White House access from CNN, MS NOW and Politico on Monday, calling the revocation ‘totally appropriate’ ( AFP/Getty )

The vice president’s statements came as the affected organizations launched a federal lawsuit against the administration on Monday. In a joint statement announcing the lawsuit, the outlets condemned the sudden revocation of their journalists’ credentials without prior notice or administrative process.

“This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes,” a joint statement from news outlets said.

“Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting,” the statement continued. “Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.”

The complaint, filed in federal court, names Trump as well as Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Communications Director Steven Cheung and Secret Service Director Sean Curran.

Legal counsel representing the news groups argued that the sudden exclusion violates both First Amendment protections and Fifth Amendment due process rights, noting that no president can strip credentials “on a whim—with no notice, no process, and no warning.”

Citing persistent ‘fake news’ coverage, President Donald Trump cut off physical access on Friday for three major outlets while threatening that additional news organizations could face similar restrictions ( Getty Images )

Vance likened Politico’s current coverage to how Breitbart News reported on former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, alleging Politico is as “anti-Trump as Breitbart was anti-Obama or anti-Biden.”

“Why on God’s green earth would Donald Trump be expected to give Politico special access when nobody in the media expected the Biden administration or the Obama administration to give Breitbart special access?” Vance said. “It’s about basic fairness. They can still report.

“They still have the access to free speech. They’re just not going to get an office in the White House anymore, and I think it’s totally appropriate, unless of course, they start to behave like real news organizations.”

Despite Vance’s comparison, Breitbart was not excluded from White House grounds during either the Obama or Biden administrations, though the outlet previously voiced frustration over its rotation within the press pool managed by the White House Correspondents’ Association.

The dispute escalates a confrontation that began Friday when Trump announced on Truth Social that he would be “banning Fake News CNN, MSNOW … and Politico … from the White House as a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS.”

CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed suit against the administration on Monday, arguing their White House passes were revoked arbitrarily without prior notice, written explanation or due process ( AFP/Getty )

Trump defended the decision in later posts, writing on Monday that the White House was not mounting an assault on a free press, but rather “an assault on the FAKE NEWS,” which he termed a “threat to our National Security.”

By Saturday morning, correspondents attempting to enter the grounds had their physical badges confiscated by Secret Service personnel.

In response to the credential revocations, television networks disrupted standard coverage routines on Monday. The major network pool announced a halt to shared broadcast coverage of presidential events, as reported by The New York Times.

In a memo sent to participating networks, Fox News Washington Bureau Chief Bryan Boughton confirmed that the television pool would not cover designated events.

“This follows the White House’s position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties,” Boughton wrote. “There will be no replacement pool put in place.”

Legal experts and press freedom advocates have questioned the constitutional validity of the administration’s actions.

Precedent set by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in the 1977 case Sherrill v. Knight established that credentialed journalists cannot be arbitrarily denied White House press access absent a clear physical security threat. Similar attempts to strip passes during Trump’s first term were blocked by federal judges.

CNN and Politico rejected the president’s characterization of their reporting, with Politico calling claims regarding government subsidies “false and thoroughly debunked.”

CNN reaffirmed its intent to defend its reporting rights “without hindrance or interference from the government.”