The White House has blocked a Politico reporter from traveling on Air Force One, marking another point of tension in the administration’s ongoing conflict with major media outlets.
The empty seat on Air Force One this Monday told a story of its own. Politico had been scheduled to provide the out-of-town pool coverage for the President’s trip to Grand Island. Nebraska. but found themselves blocked from boarding. The outlet confirmed the exclusion but declined to offer further comment on the disruption.
This move echoes a pattern of restricted access that has defined the administration’s relationship with the press corps. Last month. CNN faced a similar fate; they were slated to provide independent coverage of a trip to Tennessee. only to be left behind while a far-right outlet was invited instead. Following that decision. the President took to social media to broadcast his frustration: “FAKE NEWS SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED IN THE WHITE HOUSE!!!. IT HAS GONE ON FAR TOO LONG, AT A TREMENDOUS COST TO OUR COUNTRY.”.
The tension is rooted in a fundamental disagreement over coverage. The President has previously cited an accurate report regarding Florida gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds removing references to him from a website as a trigger for such retaliatory measures. He has often dismissed critical reporting as “FICTION and LIES. ” though he has also pivoted to claims of national security concerns when justifying these denials of access.
In September, the legal landscape surrounding these actions faced scrutiny in court. U.S. District Judge Tim Kelly. an appointee of the President. ordered the White House to return press passes to reporters from CNN. MS NOW. and Politico. The judge ruled that the initial revocation “likely violated their constitutional due process rights” and rejected the administration’s national security justification as insufficient.
However, the administration has found a workaround in the fine print. The current dispute hinges on the distinction between general press credentials and the travel pool. A spokesperson maintained that while many outlets. including Politico. retain access to cover presidential events unilaterally. “traveling with the President of the United States aboard Air Force One is a privilege not a right.” Because the September court order did not explicitly mandate access to pool duties or travel aboard the aircraft. the White House is currently leaning on that omission to limit who steps onto the tarmac.
White House Politico Air Force One Trump media access First Amendment press pool Judge Tim Kelly