Washington, D.C. —
The White House has indicated that CNN will not be part of the media pool aboard Air Force One for President Donald Trump’s latest trip, marking another development in an ongoing dispute between the administration and several major news organizations.
According to reporting by The Associated Press, CNN was replaced by Real America’s Voice News for Trump’s Saturday trip to Knoxville, Tennessee. Trump was scheduled to attend a college football game between the University of Tennessee and the University of Texas.
CNN Had Recently Returned to the White House
The latest decision came shortly after journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico returned to the White House grounds with cameras and other reporting equipment.
The three organizations had previously been barred from the White House grounds by the administration. A federal judge later issued a temporary order that allowed the organizations to regain access.
However, the judge's order addressed access to the White House grounds and did not directly settle the question of which news organizations could participate in the presidential travel pool aboard Air Force One.
How the White House Media Pool Works
The White House media pool is designed to allow a small group of journalists and broadcasters to travel with the president and share reporting materials with the broader press corps.
The television pool includes several major U.S. broadcast organizations that rotate responsibility for providing video coverage. When CNN was previously excluded from White House grounds, the other members of the pool declined to participate, according to AP reporting.
The system is intended to give news organizations access to presidential events while avoiding the need for every media outlet to travel with the president individually.
A Continuing Dispute Over Media Access
The decision involving CNN is part of a broader dispute between the Trump administration and several news organizations over presidential media access.
Earlier in the week, CNN, MS NOW and Politico had challenged restrictions on their access to the White House. The temporary court order allowed reporters from the organizations to return to the complex, but questions surrounding participation in presidential travel pools remained unresolved.
CNN had also been scheduled for pool coverage during an event involving Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the National Archives. CNN was able to provide coverage after its White House credentials were restored.
Why the Decision Matters
Presidential media pools play an important logistical role in providing coverage of the president's movements and public events. Because pool members share video and information with other news organizations, changes to the pool can affect how the broader press corps receives access to presidential events.
The latest decision is likely to keep the dispute over White House media access in the spotlight as legal proceedings continue.
The White House's decision to replace CNN with Real America's Voice applies to the particular Air Force One trip announced for Saturday, according to the reports available at the time of publication.
Source
Reporting based on The Associated Press and related coverage published September 25–26, 2026.