WASHINGTON, United States — Five major American television networks suspended shared coverage of President Donald Trump’s activities on Monday, September 21, 2026, after his administration barred CNN from fulfilling its scheduled White House television pool duties.
ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News, and NBC agreed not to provide a replacement crew, leaving presidential events without the television coverage ordinarily distributed to news organisations around the world.
The decision followed Trump’s announcement on Friday that CNN, MS NOW, and Politico would be excluded from the White House because of their reporting.
In a joint statement reported by Fox News, the five networks affirmed the public’s interest in independent information about the government.
“No administration should restrict a news organisation because it objects to its reporting,” they said.
Networks Decline to Replace CNN
CNN had been scheduled to provide television pool coverage on Monday, including accompanying Trump to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
The White House removed CNN from the assignment and did not name another major television network to replace it in its Sunday evening press schedule.
Bryan Boughton, the Fox News Washington bureau chief and current chairman of the television pool, subsequently informed participating news organisations that shared coverage of presidential events would be suspended.
“There will be no replacement pool put in place,” Boughton wrote in an email reported by The Washington Post.
He said coverage of Congress, other senior government officials, and selected events in Washington and elsewhere would continue under the existing arrangements.
The suspension applies specifically to the television pool’s coverage of the president. Individual news organisations remain free to report on presidential activities through other available means.
Trump’s Helipad Ceremony Proceeds Without Television Pool
The suspension became apparent during Trump’s ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new White House helipad on Monday.
With no television pool crew assigned to the event, the White House provided its own livestream.
The president’s remarks were largely inaudible in the broadcast because of noise from a helicopter.
Under the longstanding pool arrangement, the five major networks rotate responsibility for supplying a camera operator, an audio technician, and a producer or reporter to cover presidential activities.
The designated network records events and distributes footage to other broadcasters and news organisations, allowing them to provide coverage when space or access restrictions prevent their own crews from attending.
The system also enables local television stations and international news outlets to obtain footage without maintaining individual crews at every presidential event.
The suspension of presidential pool coverage meant that no replacement network crew accompanied Trump on his scheduled trip to New York.
Three News Organisations Sue Trump Over White House Ban
The television networks’ decision came as CNN, MS NOW, and Politico filed a federal lawsuit seeking to overturn the administration’s restrictions on their White House access.
Trump announced the ban on Friday, accusing the three organisations of publishing false reports.
The following day, Secret Service personnel denied their journalists entry to the White House complex and confiscated their press credentials.
The organisations contend that the administration violated their First Amendment rights and constitutional due process protections by withdrawing their access because of their reporting.
They are seeking an emergency court order restoring their journalists’ credentials.
Trump has defended the restrictions, maintaining that his administration is acting against what he describes as false reporting rather than press freedom.
The five television networks have not announced when their regular presidential pool coverage will resume.
