CNN barred from Trump's presidential plane by White House - WP
Photo: US President Donald Trump next to the presidential aircraft Air Force One (publicly available sources)
The White House has banned CNN representatives from traveling with US President Donald Trump on Air Force One during his Saturday trip to Knoxville, Tennessee, reports The Washington Post.
The decision came just one day after a court temporarily restored CNN journalists' access to the White House. Trump is scheduled to travel to Knoxville, Tennessee, on Saturday.
CNN is part of the White House television pool, which rotates coverage of the president's activities among several major television networks. CNN representatives were scheduled to travel with Trump aboard Air Force One and serve as the pool's designated participant.
However, the White House did not include CNN in the list of television pool representatives for Saturday's trip. At the same time, no other television channel was appointed to replace CNN.
CNN confirmed the information from The Washington Post. The White House, meanwhile, did not respond to the publication's request for comment. Later, the president's schedule for Saturday also did not specify the primary television pool representative.
What preceded the ban
Last week the Trump administration banned CNN, MSNBC, and Politico from being on White House grounds. Subsequently, these media outlets filed a lawsuit.
CNN later accused Trump of potentially violating the US Constitution.
On Thursday, federal judge Timothy Kelly temporarily ordered the administration to restore journalists' access to the White House. Following this, CNN regained the ability to work there, and the television pool resumed coverage of the president's activities on Friday.
CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox News operate within a rotating pool. It was created so that one television channel could provide video coverage of the president's events, after which the materials are shared with other participants.
This format is used, in particular, due to limited space during presidential trips and while working aboard Air Force One.
Thus, the White House's decision regarding CNN has once again called into question the operation of the television pool during Trump's trips.
