Donald Trump’s White House has defied a federal judge and seized reporters’ press passes just hours after a court ordered them let back in, marking an extraordinary escalation in the dispute over ‘Fake News’ coverage.
The White House turned away at least two reporters on Thursday, even after the judge reinstated access to the banned outlets.
The latest furore comes as Trump welcomed Chinese premier Xi Jinping and his wife Madame Peng to the White House, hailing the ‘truly great friendship’ between the world leaders.
Trump banned the news outlets last Friday in a fiery social media post accusing them of peddling ‘fake news.’ He was reportedly shown a slate of negative coverage from the outlets by his aide Natalie Harp in the moments before the ban was announced.
US District Judge Timothy Kelly granted a temporary restraining order early Thursday morning, effectively forcing the Trump administration to restore access to Politico, CNN and MS NOW, which the president banned last Friday.
Still, a Politico reporter’s credentials were confiscated on Thursday after the ruling allowing re-entry took effect, the outlet reported. An MS NOW reporter also had their credentials taken and was denied access, the outlet reported.
The three outlets filed their lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday and the case has rapidly progressed.
In solidarity with the banned outlets, major broadcasters like Fox News, NBC, CBS and ABC – known as the TV pool responsible for covering presidential coverage on a rotating basis – have refused to cover the president in response.
ABC News was listed as the TV pool for Thursday’s state visit by China’s president but is refusing to go into any events until the White House gives proof that CNN journalists have been allowed inside, the Guardian reported.
Xi Jinping (2nd-L) and first lady of China Peng Liyuan (L) greet US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump (R) during an arrival ceremony at the White House on September 24, 2026 in Washington, DC
MS NOW correspondent Akayla Gardner reports outside the White House grounds after President Donald Trump banned MS Now, CNN, and Politico in a Truth Social post
As Trump and Melania greeted Xi and his wife, Madame Peng, at the airport on Wednesday, many broadcast teams broke down their cameras and watched the events without filming them.
Despite the blackout, Trump cheerfully praised the Chinese leader, noting that this visit was the first time Xi has been met him at the White House.
He said: ‘We have spent time together all over the world.’
During those visits, Xi and Trump have ‘forged a friendship, a truly great friendship, actually.’
The US president said it was a ‘great privilege’ to visit Beijing earlier this year and said Xi showed ‘spectacular and very beautiful hospitality.’
He said he and the first lady ‘are honoured to host you’ in ‘the beautiful White House.’
The Chinese president, meanwhile, said he and Trump have established a ‘personal rapport’ over the years and encourage their governments to communicate.
But Xi said those talks can be improved.
‘We should strengthen communication,’ he said. ‘China and the United States are different in national condition, but through candid, in-depth, and continued dialogue, our two countries can understand each other better, seek common ground, while shelving differences and build up mutual trust.’
Xi said he and Trump have pushed better communication among their lieutenants ‘in charge of foreign affairs, economic matters, financial cooperation and law enforcement and people-to-people exchanges.’
He added later that the nations’ militaries can ‘maintain regular dialogue’ as part of an overall relationship that involves ‘healthy’ competition that is ‘kept within bounds.’
The ban has resulted in a media blackout of Trump’s state visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping
Chinese President Xi Jinping, his wife, Peng Liyuan and US first lady Melania Trump listen to US President Donald Trump delivering remarks at the White House in Washington, DC, US, September 24, 2026
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump greet China’s President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan on the South Portico of the White House, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Washington
Trump’s week has been packed with major events from attending the UN General Assembly meeting in New York City to the historic state visit with Xi in Washington, which concludes on Friday.
The media blackout has prevented widespread coverage of the spectacles, and the broadcasters have mostly not taken any of the events live.
New media outlets like Real America’s Voice, a MAGA-friendly network, have filled the void with YouTube streams.
Given the ban on CNN and MS NOW, the broadcast tents they used to occupy on White House grounds are now vacant with their lights off, and correspondents have opted instead to shoot live shots from the streets outside the presidential residence.
It is unclear when the White House will officially restore the outlets’ credentials.
The Daily Mail contacted the White House for comment.
The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) released a blistering condemnation of the ban in the wake of the media crackdown.
‘The president said it plainly in the Oval Office, describing his own planned action as a ‘ban on the free press,” Jacqui Heinrich, WHCA president, said in a statement.
‘The Constitution protects the freedom of the press from government interference. That protection does not depend on whether the president likes a news organization’s coverage, agrees with its reporting, or approves of the questions its journalists ask.’
