US TELEVISION NETWORKS have staged an extraordinary revolt by effectively boycotting coverage of Donald Trump in protest at his decision to ban three news outlets from the White House.

CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a lawsuit against the US president and three administration officials after he ordered them to be barred, accusing them – without specifics – of reporting “fiction and lies.”

As a result of the row, Trump’s opening of his new White House helipad and his trip to the United Nations General Assembly proceeded without live television coverage.

In a rare move, the top five US broadcasters said on Monday that they were halting “pool” coverage of the White House – where a broadcaster films on behalf of all television outlets for the day – in solidarity with CNN.

CNN had been scheduled to serve as the White House TV pool on Monday.

“The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting,” ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox and NBC said in a statement.

The result is an almost unprecedented test of wills between the Trump administration and the press, in a critical week during which Chinese President Xi Jinping is visiting the White House.

There may be no live TV of Trump’s meetings with foreign leaders at the UN in New York, the annual forum that is closely watched around the world.

Trump TV

Meanwhile, the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the giant granite helipad on the South Lawn was only streamed on the White House’s website – and Trump’s comments were completely inaudible.

LMFAO -- Trump is holding an event at the White House right now but there's no audio because the press pool isn't there. The Newsmax host notes that this is an example of Trump's attacks on the press "backfiring just a little bit" pic.twitter.com/dAy1dvDvFL

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 21, 2026

Several photo news organizations working at the White House, including AFP, decided to delay the release of photographs of Trump at the helipad in solidarity with the three banned media organisations.

Trump was unrepentant, branding the media a “cancer” and a threat to national security.

“The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.

“It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America.”

On Monday evening, the White House launched a streaming channel, “Trump TV,” which it said would show “top videos, major remarks, and must-see highlights streaming 24/7 and updated in real time.”

When it went online, it was showing archive footage of Trump delivering a speech on 3 July at Mount Rushmore.

US vice president JD Vance – a former CNN commentator before his move into politics – accused the news outlets of disseminating “left-wing propaganda.”

“They can still report. They still have the access to free speech. They’re just not going to get an office in the White House anymore,” he told reporters.

Press pass confiscated

However, Trump’s ban went further than simply revoking office space from the outlets.

Journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were denied any access to the White House grounds on Saturday and had their passes confiscated.

In their lawsuit, the three organisations asked for a temporary restraining order against the ban on the grounds that it violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which upholds the right to a free press.

“This ban could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment nor a more blatant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles,” the organisations said in a court filing.

A US district judge set a hearing on the complaint for Wednesday.

Trump’s sudden announcement of the ban on Friday stunned the media – and reportedly many in his own administration.

The president has not detailed what prompted the ban, but said in response to a question in the Oval Office on Friday that it was “really just cumulative stories over the last two years.”

He also warned that other outlets could face a similar fate, without saying which ones.

The 80-year-old has long attacked media outlets that have aired critical coverage of his campaigns and administrations, repeatedly blasting the press as the “enemy of the people.”

But the ban comes at a time when his approval ratings are at record lows, his Republican Party risks losing control of Congress in November’s midterm elections, and the Iran war drags on with no end in sight.

With reporting from © AFP 2026