The White House press pool follows the US president almost every day, covering his meetings, public appearances, travel and remarks.
The system allows news organisations around the world to get regular video, photographs and information about the president, even when there is not enough space for every reporter to attend an event.
But that system is now facing disruption after President Donald Trump banned CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House. The three news organisations have since filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, arguing that the ban violates their First Amendment rights and seeking to restore their access.
The five major TV networks that make up the White House television pool have also suspended their coverage rather than replacing CNN, which was scheduled to cover Trump’s trip to the United Nations General Assembly.
The decision comes at a crucial time, with Trump preparing to host Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House later this week.
Why did Trump ban the three outlets?
Trump announced the ban on Truth Social on Friday, saying it was “effective immediately”. He accused CNN, MS NOW and Politico of repeatedly publishing “FAKE NEWS” about him and his administration. Trump also warned that other news organisations could face similar action.
In his post, Trump said media outlets should not be allowed to report “fiction and lies” about him, his administration or the country.
Trump also criticised MS NOW, which was recently rebranded from MSNBC. He claimed the name change was linked to falling viewership and credibility.
The rebranding, however, followed Comcast’s decision to spin off the network from NBCUniversal.
He later attacked Politico over payments made by the federal government for its services. Those payments covered subscriptions to the company’s policy-tracking service across government agencies, rather than being one payment to keep the news organisation running.
Later, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said he supported a free and fair press but accused the three outlets of deliberately publishing negative coverage.
Reporters turned away from White House
The dispute escalated over the weekend.
Reporters from the three organisations were turned away from the White House after their access was revoked. MS NOW staffers were among those refused entry on Saturday.
The three organisations said the move crossed a line because the government was effectively deciding which news organisations could cover the president.
On Monday, CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a lawsuit in federal court in Washington, asking the court to restore their White House access.
They said the ban violates their First Amendment rights and argued that the government should not decide what the press can report or publish.
In a joint statement before filing the case, the three outlets said they wanted to “protect our First Amendment rights” and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes.
Major TV networks stop White House pool coverage
The dispute then spread beyond the three banned outlets.
ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News joined CNN in suspending their participation in the White House television pool.
The five networks normally take turns covering the president’s travel and major events. They share video, audio and photographs with other news organisations, often in real time.
CNN was scheduled to handle the pool during Trump’s current travel. But after the administration blocked CNN from the White House, the other networks decided not to take over the assignment.
In effect, the normal television pool was suspended.
The networks said the public has an important interest in receiving accurate and independent information about the government. They also argued that an administration should not punish a news organisation simply because it dislikes its reporting.
The impact was visible almost immediately.
With the television pool suspended, there was no shared pool microphone at some White House events. That meant parts of Trump’s remarks were difficult for outside news organisations to hear and use.
The White House has since promoted its own video feed, called “TRUMP TV: The Essentials Station”, offering administration announcements, presidential remarks and other content online.
The lack of normal pool coverage also meant that broadcasters had fewer shared images and audio from Trump’s events.
Trump TV faces criticism
Announcing the launch, the White House said on X: “IT’S LIVE. TRUMP TV IS STREAMING NOW. 24/7, updated in real time, with top past moments, announcements, and the latest and greatest from the administration all in one place. Not every big moment has made it on your tv, now it can.”
When the stream first went live, it was showing archival footage of Trump delivering a speech at Mount Rushmore on July 3. About 15 minutes after the YouTube stream began, it had around 8,000 live viewers.
The new streaming platform has already drawn criticism from some media and former government officials. Former right-wing social media personality Breck Worsham also criticised the move, writing on X: “Trump is literally getting ready to launch a state run media called Trump TV. Didn’t another dictator have a state run media or was I imagining that?”
Jameel Jaffer, executive director of Columbia University’s Knight First Amendment Institute, called the new platform a source of “government propaganda.”
“This just makes it even clearer that the real goal here is to ensure that the American public is fed a steady diet of government propaganda,” he said, according to the Times of Israel.
Why the Xi visit makes the timing important
The dispute comes at a sensitive time for the White House.
Trump is scheduled to host Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House on September 24. Xi is due to arrive in Washington on September 23 and leave on September 25. The White House has confirmed the visit as an official state visit.
The meeting will be the second meeting between Trump and Xi this year.
Trade and tariffs are expected to be major issues. Other subjects include technology, artificial intelligence, Taiwan, Iran and wider US-China economic relations.
The visit will include a formal welcome ceremony and a state dinner hosted by Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.
That means the White House press-access fight is unfolding just as one of the biggest diplomatic events of Trump’s year is about to take place.
What exactly is the White House press pool?
The press pool is a small group of journalists selected to cover the president when it is not possible for the entire White House press corps to be present.
The five networks that normally make up the television pool are ABC News, CBS News, CNN, Fox News and NBC News. The networks take turns covering the president’s daily movements in Washington and on foreign trips.
The network assigned to the pool records video and audio of the president and then shares that material with other news organisations. Television stations can use the footage, while journalists who are not physically present can use it to report what the president says in real time.
The pool is used for large public events where many reporters can attend. But it becomes especially important in smaller spaces. It allows journalists to cover events inside the Oval Office, for example, where there is not enough room for the hundreds of reporters who cover the White House.
Pool reporters can also travel with the president on Air Force One and wait for him under the aircraft before flights.
What happens if the boycott continues?
If the TV pool remains suspended during the Xi visit, the normal system for sharing live television footage from Trump’s major events could remain disrupted.
That could affect how broadcasters and other news organisations cover the Trump-Xi meetings, especially events inside the White House.
The White House could continue providing its own footage through its official channels, but that would be different from the normal system in which independent television networks rotate responsibility for covering the president and share the material with other outlets.