DOMINANT ANGLE
Madrid sees the exclusion of CNN, MS NOW and Politico as a blatant infringement on the First Amendment, rather than a simple editorial dispute between the executive and rival newsrooms.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
More than 900 journalists normally have permanent access to the White House, including a small group, the press pool, that accompanies the president to each of his official events.
- 02
Vice President JD Vance claims that CNN, MS NOW and Politico publish "about 92%" negative news about the president and his administration, to justify the withdrawal of their special access.
- 03
ABC, CBS, Fox News and NBC have notified the government of their immediate withdrawal from the presidential pool, refusing to transmit their footage to the rest of the press in solidarity with the banned media.
ANALYSIS
Madrid, September 22, 2026. The Spanish press considers the exclusion of CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House to be an "unprecedented episode in the history of the United States," according to El País, which recalls that no president had ever banned an entire media outlet from the presidential premises: until now, only isolated journalists had lost their accreditation. More than 900 journalists normally have permanent access to the White House, including a small group, the press pool, which accompanies the president to each of his official events.
The veto, announced on Friday by Donald Trump, came into effect on Saturday when the Secret Service removed the badge from the journalist and cameraman of MS NOW, and then from their counterparts at CNN. The president warned that he could extend the measure to the New York Times and the Washington Post.
On Monday, the three media outlets announced a lawsuit against the Trump administration, citing the First Amendment of the Constitution. "This ban could not be a more direct aggression against the First Amendment or a more flagrant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles," they state in their joint statement, cited by ElDiario.es, which specifies that an emergency request will be examined by a federal judge from the Washington district court, with a possible hearing this week. The media outlets denounce a decision made "without notice or procedure."
Solidarity has gone beyond the ranks of the three sanctioned media outlets: ABC, CBS, Fox News, and NBC, which usually take turns following the president with their cameras, have notified the government of their immediate withdrawal from the presidential pool, refusing to transmit their images to the rest of the press. HuffPost España sees this as "a wave of solidarity" that Trump would not have wished for.
In the face of the backlash, Vice President JD Vance attempted to downplay the issue: "He is not banning the media. What he is saying is that he will not give them special access to the White House if they devote themselves to what is actually propaganda," he defended, arguing that these three media outlets publish "about 92% of news" that is negative about the president and his administration.
SOURCES (3)
- El Pais EnglishMEDIUM
- HuffPost EspañaMEDIUM
- ElDiario.esMEDIUM
