On September 18, Trump announced via his social media platform Truth Social that CNN, MS NOW (formerly MSNBC), and Politico are immediately banned from entering the White House, citing these media's "continued reporting of fake news." He wrote in the post that media organizations "should not always fabricate fiction and lies when reporting on the president."

Regarding MSNBC's rebranding to MS NOW this year, Trump mocked in his post that the name change was due to "insufficient ratings and credibility." This statement directly interprets the rebranding as a remedial action following damage to the brand image, rather than the other explanations provided by the network.

Trump specifically named Politico, claiming that the media outlet received a "record $8 million" subscription contract directly from the U.S. government during the "corrupt Joe Biden" administration, aimed at keeping the media outlet "alive," describing it as "illegal and absurd" corruption.

The claim of "$8 million" has been verified by multiple media outlets in February 2025: the verification results showed that in 2024, several federal agencies, including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), indeed paid Politico over $8 million in total, but this money was dispersed across agencies for routine procurement expenditures for Politico's paid subscription content related to policy tracking, with USAID's actual expenditure being only about $24,000; both parties in Congress also purchased Politico's paid subscription services that year, and federal agencies subscribed to other media such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal at the same time. Politico's editor-in-chief previously publicly responded that the company "has never benefited from government projects or subsidies in 18 years, not a penny."

In the same statement, Trump also stated that "other 'fake news' media organizations will follow suit," suggesting that this ban may be just the first step, with the possibility of more media organizations being added to the list of those denied entry to the White House in the future.

According to Reuters, CNN, MS NOW, Politico, and the National Press Club have not responded to requests for comments on the matter. This is not the first time Trump has pressured media in a similar manner—he has previously called for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to revoke the licenses of television stations that criticize him and has pressured broadcasting organizations to remove programs unfavorable to him.

From a communication mechanism perspective, this ban directly affects the daily interview channels of the White House press corps—banned media will be unable to enter the White House to participate in routine briefings or coverage, effectively cutting off their channels for obtaining first-hand information from within the White House in the short term; the label of "fake news" combined with the previously verified inaccurate claim of "$8 million" also gives this ban a more opinionated character, rather than being based on newly disclosed specific evidence.

Source: Public Information