Since returning to office in January 2025, Trump and administration officials have repeatedly clashed with members of the White House press corps. In his second term, Trump has also taken steps to bring conservative bloggers, influencers and other media outlets into the newsroom, arguing that there is a need to provide diverse perspectives to the American public. In February, the White House announced it was taking control of the Trump press pool that for more than a century had been managed by the White House Correspondents’ Association. The same month, the administration decided to ban Associated Press (AP) reporters and photographers from spaces where access is limited, such as the Oval Office or Air Force One, due to the media’s use of the term “Gulf of Mexico” instead of “Gulf of America.” The AP quickly filed a lawsuit and the case is ongoing. The president has frequently clashed with journalists in the Oval Office on Air Force One and during events at the White House, often referring to them as “fake news” and “rude.” In his first term, Trump also banned CNN correspondent Jim Acosta from the White House, although his credentials were restored after CNN filed a lawsuit. CNN is one of only five American news outlets that film videos for the pool. The group refers to a media outlet or reporter that shares material from a presidential event with other media outlets. The BBC contributes to the White House radio group. The announcement was immediately criticized by the main organizations defending press freedom. In a statement Friday afternoon, Columbia University’s Knight First Amendment Institute said that “with so many courts ruling against him on exactly this point, one would think President Trump would have learned this lesson by now.” “If President Trump seeks to expel these news organizations from the White House press pool, his action is doubly unconstitutional because the press pool is a ‘public forum’ under the First Amendment, meaning the president cannot exclude journalists based on their views,” said the institute’s executive director, Jameel Jaffer. A major group that provides legal services to media outlets, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said it hoped the courts would quickly overturn Trump’s ban because it was “flatly unconstitutional.” “The First Amendment is clear: Once the White House invites some journalists, it can’t ban others because it doesn’t like their reporting,” said the group’s president, Bruce Brown, calling the potential ban “textbook discrimination.” The Freedom of the Press Foundation also said it was illegal, adding: “It is also difficult to imagine a sillier measure.” Trump “has been retaliating against the press for years, but it hasn’t helped him,” he said, adding that “these outrageous attacks only show how scared he is of an informed public.” Trump has taken legal action against several American and international media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and the BBC. Some of the lawsuits have resulted in media organizations agreeing to pay multimillion-dollar settlements. Trump’s lawsuit against the BBC is ongoing.
