“I believe there was just an announcement that the White House decided, you know what, CNN, MSN, MS NOW, maybe the New York Times was included, you just can’t come to the White House press briefings anymore, because you’re giving the current president unfavorable coverage,” Obama said.
“I’m trying to think what would have happened if I had said, you know what, Fox News, get out of here,” he continued. “It’s unimaginable.”
Trump has clashed with news organizations over White House access before. During his first term, his administration revoked then-CNN correspondent Jim Acosta’s press pass following a contentious exchange between Acosta and Trump at a news conference. A federal judge subsequently ordered the White House to restore Acosta’s credentials, The Independent reported.
The administration also restricted The Associated Press’ access to some White House events in 2025 after the outlet continued referring to the Gulf of Mexico by its longstanding name rather than using Trump’s preferred “Gulf of America.”
Obama also questioned what the acceptance of the latest restrictions says about Americans’ understanding of democracy.
“So, but the point I’m making here is, is that if you have a certain cohort, let’s call it 30 to 35 percent of the country right now, which thinks that’s okay, well, what that means is we have not developed the kind of understanding of what democracy requires, and we’ve got to shore that back up,” Obama said.
“I don’t think that’s inevitable, I don’t think all is lost on that front, but we have to roll up our sleeves and get working,” Obama added.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a federal lawsuit Monday (September 21) challenging the restrictions, arguing that the Trump administration violated their First and Fifth Amendment rights by revoking access based on their coverage.
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