White House replaces CNN in Air Force One press pool
Real America’s Voice News was assigned CNN’s video pool slot for Donald Trump’s Knoxville trip, while four other broadcasters declined to take part.
The White House assigned CNN’s Air Force One video pool slot to Real America’s Voice News for President Donald Trump’s trip to a college football game in Knoxville, Tennessee, according to White House guidance reported by Al Jazeera.
The slot has long been reserved for a member of the US network video pool. Real America’s Voice News is not part of that pool, which comprises five major broadcasters that take turns recording and distributing video.
Fox, ABC, CBS and NBC declined to participate until access was restored. Their response followed the White House’s replacement of CNN for the trip.
The dispute comes amid a separate legal challenge by CNN, MS NOW and Politico over their exclusion from White House grounds. A judge temporarily struck down that ban, finding the government had not provided factual support for its national security rationale.
The ruling concerned White House press passes and did not directly address pool duties or Air Force One access. The outlets’ lawyer, Theodore Boutrous Jr, said the plaintiffs believe the decision also covers pool access; whether it applies to the presidential aircraft remains unresolved in the available material.
