MSNOW Reporter HUMILIATED LIVE ON AIR After White House DENIES ACCESS THEN STRIPS Her Press Badge
The White House on Saturday barred reporters from CNN, MSNOW and Politico from entering the building, one day after President Trump announced he would revoke access for the three outlets, calling them “fake news” and accusing them of publishing “fiction and lies.”
Reporters from all three organizations said their press badges were deactivated overnight. CNN’s Betsy Klein and MSNOW correspondent Akayla Gardner attempted to enter the grounds during their morning broadcasts but were stopped by Secret Service and told their credentials were invalid. Politico reporter Cheyenne Haslett said her pass was confiscated at the gate.
Klein later reported live from outside the White House as a passerby heckled her, shouting that reporters should “tell the truth” if they wanted their credentials restored. Gardner said a security officer told her the decision “was above him,” and added that an MSNOW photographer was also denied entry. One MSNOW producer’s badge remained active, allowing limited access.
MSNOW, a small digital outlet with a modest national audience and a reputation for aggressive editorial framing, condemned the decision and said it would pursue “any and all steps necessary” to defend its First Amendment rights. The network said the ban targeted independent journalism and argued that the White House should not restrict access to taxpayer‑funded institutions.
CNN issued a similar statement, calling the ban “an illegal assault” on press freedom and vowing to continue reporting on the administration from outside government buildings if necessary.
Trump told reporters Friday that he wanted the outlets to “get better,” saying the ban was the result of “a cumulation of stories over the past few years” that he had grown “sick of.” He warned that additional outlets could face similar restrictions, singling out the New York Times and Washington Post as “crummy” and “fake news.”
The decision drew swift criticism from across the political spectrum. Several Fox News anchors, typically supportive of Trump, described the ban as an attack on press access. Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley called it “an assault on long‑honored principles of a free press,” while analyst Guy Benson called the move “exhausting.”
The White House Correspondents’ Association said the ban infringed on constitutional rights and undermined the public’s ability to receive independent reporting on the presidency. “This is about more than the rights of journalists,” WHCA President Jacqui Heinrich said. “It is about the right of the American people to receive a full and independent account of the activities, policies and decisions of whoever occupies the nation’s highest office.”
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press also condemned the move, calling it “flatly unconstitutional” and predicting it would be overturned if challenged in court.
Trump has repeatedly clashed with the press throughout his presidency. In February 2025, he barred Associated Press reporters from White House coverage after the outlet declined to use his preferred name for the Gulf of Mexico. That dispute remains the subject of ongoing litigation.
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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