CNN said its journalists were denied permission to board Air Force One for a planned trip with President Donald Trump on Saturday, marking the latest flashpoint between the US regime and major media networks.

The network was scheduled to travel to Knoxville, Tennessee, where Trump was expected to attend a college football game. As the representative of the TV press pool for the weekend, CNN would have covered the president and shared video and information with the four other major networks in the pool.

According to the Associated Press, CNN was replaced by Real America’s Voice News, a conservative outlet. The move is seen as another instance of the US regime’s pressure on media it perceives as unfavorable.

Earlier this week, Trump barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, accusing them of reporting “fiction and lies.” In solidarity, major TV networks, including DW, cut off their pooled coverage of the president.

On Thursday, a federal judge temporarily struck down the ban after the outlets filed a lawsuit. However, the judge’s order addressed “hard passes” to the White House grounds and did not directly address pool duties. As a result, CNN’s exclusion from Air Force One remains legally ambiguous.

The incident has reignited debates over press freedom and the US regime’s treatment of the media. Watchdogs warn that such actions could further undermine journalists’ ability to cover the president.

Source: www.dw.com