Trump vs press: From Nixon and Obama to White House media ban, history of presidential clashes with journalists

In a highly unusual move, US President Donald Trump last week barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House grounds over what he called "fake news".

The media organizations have now sued the Trump administration, describing the selective ban as a "blatant violation" of the First Amendment.

"White House access is a privilege — not a right," the administration posted on X.

Quick answers to key questions

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QUESTIONS

Trump banned CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House because he accused them of reporting 'fake news,' claiming that their coverage was not fair.

The White House press pool is significant as it provides a limited group of journalists with access to the president, enabling them to share information and coverage with the wider media despite space constraints.

Trump's administration has taken a more active role in determining which media organizations participate in the press pool, influencing the representation and access granted to various news outlets.

Journalists have the right to access White House press facilities once established, and any denial of this access must be justified by legitimate government interests, as established in the case Sherrill v Knight.

The television pool coverage was suspended by major networks in protest of Trump's ban on CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, highlighting the growing tensions between the administration and the press.

"The Constitution, does not allow a president or any other government official to deprive the press of their First Amendment rights and liberty and property interests with no notice or process based solely on his dislike of the content of their reporting," the banned news outlets said in their lawsuit.

The reporters' entry badges were reportedly disabled on Saturday, a day after Trump suddenly announced that he was barring the outlets over reporting he considered "fake news".

Other media houses stood in solidarity with the network. ABC, CBS, Fox News and NBC subsequently suspended their participation in the presidential TV pool.

Donald Trump's media clashes predate his second term

This is not the first time the US president has clashed with the media. Trump has repeatedly accused several outlets of promoting "fake news".

During his first term, in 2018, the White House revoked CNN reporter Jim Acosta's press credentials following a confrontation during a presidential news conference. CNN and Acosta challenged the move in court.

The White House reinstated Acosta's hard pass after a federal judge ordered it to do so. The same judge, Timothy Kelly, is now presiding over the lawsuit filed by CNN, MS NOW and Politico.

Earlier in 2025, Trump signed an executive order directing the US Interior Department to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. The Associated Press, citing its editorial standards, said it would continue to use the established name while acknowledging the name Trump had chosen, Reuters reported.

The White House subsequently limited AP's access to press gatherings, accusing the news agency of taking a divisive position and spreading misinformation.

On AP's appeal, a federal judge initially ordered access restored, although an appeals court subsequently allowed restrictions in some areas, including the Oval Office and Air Force One, while litigation continued. The appellate discussion also distinguished spaces generally open to the press, where viewpoint-based exclusion presents a different legal question, according to CBS News.

The Trump administration later removed wire services, including Reuters and AP, from the permanent pool of reporters.

Barack Obama's dispute with Fox News

Trump is not the only US president to have had a run-in with the press.

In 2009, the administration of Democratic President Barack Obama attempted to exclude Fox News from a Treasury Department event. It backed down after other major television networks objected.

"FOX News often operates almost as either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican Party," White House communications director Anita Dunn had said at the time, according to CBS News.

On 19 September, Obama told an audience at Colgate University, which was discussing the newly introduced Trump press ban: "I'm trying to think what would have happened if I had said, you know what, Fox News, you're outta here!"

Richard Nixon's battles with press

Richard Nixon was captured on his own audio tapes in 1972 saying, "Never forget the press is the enemy. The establishment is the enemy, the professors are the enemy."

The Nixon administration also reportedly maintained a list of political enemies that included journalists. One of the most prominent journalists on the list was The Washington Post columnist Mary McGrory.

In 1971, Nixon's government famously went to court to stop the publication of the Pentagon Papers, a classified Defense Department study of US involvement in Vietnam.

The Supreme Court ruled against the government, allowing The New York Times and The Washington Post to continue publishing the papers.

The Watergate scandal was subsequently investigated by two WaPo reporters, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, and ultimately resulted in Nixon's resignation.

Presidential tensions with journalists span decades

Trump, Nixon and Obama are not the only presidents to have clashed with journalists.

Franklin D Roosevelt, the longest-serving US president, once reportedly tried to present a New York Daily News correspondent with an Iron Cross from Nazi Germany after becoming unhappy with the correspondent's war reporting, according to a CBS News report.

John F Kennedy also tried to have NYT reporter David Halberstam removed from Vietnam, the report mentioned.

The examples illustrate that tensions between presidents and the press are not new. What has changed, however, is the technology through which presidents communicate with the public -- and the ability of news organizations to challenge restrictions on their access.

The legal precedent on White House press access

In the 1977 case Sherrill v Knight, a federal appeals court ruled that although the White House is not required to open its doors to the news media, once it establishes press facilities for credentialed journalists, it cannot deny access based on the content of a journalist’s coverage, according to a report by WaPo.

The court held that denial of access had to be based on a legitimate government interest and that journalists should receive notice of the reasons for the denial, an opportunity to respond and a final decision in writing.

The case has become an important precedent in subsequent disputes over White House press access.

How social media is reshaping presidential communication

Traditional media is no longer the only route through which a president can communicate with the public.

With the rise of social media, a president can bypass established media houses and reach the public directly through X, Facebook, YouTube or, in Trump's case, Truth Social.

That dynamic became particularly visible this week after the White House launched TRUMP TV: The Essentials Station, a 24-hour digital video stream featuring administration announcements, presidential remarks and other content. The launch came after ABC, CBS, Fox News and NBC declined to replace CNN in the White House television pool.

The development also comes as Americans increasingly access news through social and video platforms. The Reuters Institute's 2025 Digital News Report found that 54% of US respondents said they accessed news through social/video networks, compared with 50% through television and 48% through news websites or apps.