ALSO SEE: MS NOW, CNN and Politico Say Their Journalists Were
Denied Access to White House After Trump Ban

Donald Trump reupped his battle with the “FAKE NEWS” media on Truth Social Friday, banning CNN, MSNOW and POLITICO for reporting “LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States,” with “Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow.”

POLITICO called sources in and around the administration to find out why — after months of low approval ratings for the president and his signature issues — now?

Here’s what POLITICO learned.

Many senior staff were surprised by the directive, which happened while chief of staff Susie Wiles was out of town, and weren’t aware it was coming until they saw the post, according to three people close to the White House with knowledge of conversations in the West Wing.

One person said Trump previously tried to ban certain media, at one point even trying to put the press in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, but was talked down.

On Friday the press shop was blindsided and unsure of how to respond, with one aide simply pointing back to Trump’s Truth Social post.

Even so, they’re taking it seriously.

“It’s real and permanent as far as POTUS is concerned,” the person said.

This morning, MS NOW said their journalists “were denied access to the White House grounds” in a statement.

“MS NOW intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalism in our democracy,” the statement continued.

CNN said its reporters were also denied entry. “CNN’s mission to report on the U.S. government will continue regardless of any attempts to restrict physical access to the White House and other government buildings, or any other attempts to impede our journalism,” the outlet said in a statement.

Over a dozen current and former Trump White House White House officials POLITICO called, texted and Signaled — granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations — were also puzzled by the development. Other key White House officials reached out to us unsolicited to say it was a head scratcher.

Trump spoke with reporters in the Oval Office Friday shortly after the post at a pre-scheduled event on healthcare. He took questions, but didn’t offer much beyond decrying the “fake news,” adding that “cumulative stories” prompted the move.

Perhaps the incident will be filed away as one of Trump’s seemingly spontaneous eruptions that staff struggle to explain, from his fascination with genetics to his hatred for windmills.

But perhaps not. A second person close to the White House said there’s already been discussions about adding more outlets to the ban. Trump himself on Friday cited The New York Times and The Washington Post as possible additions.

Friday’s Truthsilade already feels different than in February 2025, when the Trump administration canceled subscriptions to the POLITICO Pro policy news services after falsely claiming the Biden administration subsidized publication. (He revived that thoroughly debunked claim Friday.) At the time White House aides doubled down on Trump’s claims with prepared talking points.

This time sources inside the White House were still trying to make sense of what happened.

For now, there’s one last bite of telling Washington intel: CNN is scheduled for TV pool duty on Monday, and the White House hasn’t reached out to the other four network chiefs to change the rotation.