Fox News joined ABC, CBS, CNN, and NBC on Monday in suspending pooled television coverage of President Trump after the White House prevented CNN from taking its scheduled turn covering the president’s trip to New York.
“The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government,” the five networks said in a joint statement. “No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting.”
JUST IN: Basically every major TV network — including FOX NEWS — effective immediately are banding together to STOP video-pool coverage of President Trump’s events and UN trip to NYC, because POTUS blocked CNN/MSNOW/Politico “TV networks are standing with CNN because they… pic.twitter.com/qH63V6VDGB
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 21, 2026
The networks ordinarily rotate the expense and responsibility of recording presidential events designated for pool coverage, then distribute the resulting footage to news organizations around the world. CNN was assigned to accompany Trump on Monday as he traveled to the United Nations General Assembly. After the White House removed CNN from the pool, the other networks declined to replace it.
The action followed a lawsuit filed Monday by CNN, MS NOW, Politico, and three of their White House correspondents. The plaintiffs say the administration revoked their credentials because Trump disliked their reporting, violating the First Amendment and their right to due 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,” the outlets said.
Joint statement from Politico, CNN, and MS NOW:
“We are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights…” pic.twitter.com/M355lAqtpw
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 21, 2026
CNN reporter Betsy Klein, MS NOW correspondent Akayla Gardner, and Politico reporter Cheyenne Haslett were turned away from the White House on Saturday. Their credentials had been disabled; Gardner and Haslett said officers confiscated their badges.
The plaintiffs are asking a federal judge to restore their access immediately while the case proceeds. The complaint names Trump, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, and Secret Service Director Sean Curran as defendants.
The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, who in 2018 ordered the White House to restore then-CNN reporter Jim Acosta’s credential after finding that its revocation did not provide adequate due process, The National News Desk reports.
[NOTE: The new complaint also alleges viewpoint discrimination: government retaliation based on the opinions or perspectives expressed by a speaker.]
Trump announced Friday that he was banning the three organizations for what he characterized as deliberately false and negative coverage. On Monday, he rejected the lawsuit’s characterization of his action.
“The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. He called what he describes as coordinated “FAKE NEWS” a “threat to our National Security” that “must be stopped, NOW!”
WOW! President Trump calls the Fake News a “threat to NATIONAL SECURITY,” hits back HARD after CNN/MSNOW/Politico file a 1st Amendment lawsuit because of their White House ban “The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish. It is… pic.twitter.com/VeMbF0DDCu
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 21, 2026
The networks’ response produced an immediate consequence. “When the president does anything today,” CNN White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins explained, “there will be no TV camera with the president that is broadcasting and sharing this footage” with the public.