White House Blocks CNN From Air Force One, Networks Suspend Pool Coverage Again

The White House has blocked CNN from flying on Air Force One as the TV pool network traveling with Donald Trump on his trip to Tennessee on Saturday.

A CNN spokesperson confirmed reports that the network was pulled from as a scheduled network providing TV coverage of the president. Because of space limitations, much of the coverage of the president is pooled, with video, photo, audio and print information shared to a wider circle of outlets.

Trump banned CNN, Politico and MS NOW from the White House grounds last week, but a federal judge ordered credentials reinstated on Thursday, concluding that it was a violation of due process rights.

The judge did not rule on a related action by the White House: On Sunday, after the president issued the ban on the three outlets, the Trump administration also pulled CNN from the TV pool rotation. The other four networks in the rotation — CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox — declined to replace CNN, suspending coverage for most of the week, an act of protest that meant a dearth of video images from the White House.

The TV pool resumed earlier on Friday when CNN was reinstated, but now the network is being blocked again.