White House / President·Press pool
White House leaves CNN off Air Force One for Trump’s Tennessee football trip
Correction (Sep 26, 2026): We got this wrong. An earlier version said the White House guidance was “reported by the Associated Press and NBC News” while our source list named only the New York Post, NBC News and Reuters; in fact the New York Post article we linked is an Associated Press report, and the text and source list now say so and also credit Reuters’ report. We apologize for the error.
The White House on Friday night removed CNN from the media pool for President Donald Trump’s Saturday trip to Knoxville, Tennessee, where he is scheduled to attend the University of Texas–University of Tennessee college football game, according to White House guidance reported by The Associated Press (in an AP story published by the New York Post) and NBC News; Reuters, citing The Washington Post, also reported CNN was blocked from the flight. CNN had been set to fly on Air Force One as part of rotating network pool duties; guidance listed Real America’s Voice News in that spot instead, and NBC reported no other traditional network was listed as a replacement. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly’s temporary order earlier this week restored White House grounds access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico for 14 days after Trump barred them, but the order addressed credentials for the grounds and did not explicitly require restoring CNN’s television-pool seat on Air Force One.
- AP via New York PostCNN left off Air Force One for Trump's trip to Tennessee as White House installs new media restriction
- NBC NewsWhite House blocks CNN from covering Trump's Tennessee trip
- ReutersWhite House blocks CNN from Air Force One trip, Washington Post reports