On Sep. 22, 2026 CNN correspondent Dana Bash called President Trump’s decision to ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House an “unnecessary milestone” during an interview on CBS Mornings.
Bash said the move speaks to “the entire free press” and warned it sends a message internationally as the president prepares to host Chinese leader Xi Jinping, according to the CBS segment that aired Sep. 22, 2026.
The bans prompted major broadcast partners to suspend the presidential TV pool in solidarity with CNN, CBS reports, and CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a lawsuit seeking immediate restoration of their access and press credentials.
Without the TV pool, networks say routine coverage of the president can be disrupted — CBS noted an example where a ribbon-cutting had no live pool audio because the pool mics weren’t present.
The White House role in choosing which outlets join the pool has changed in recent years, and CBS reported that shift has already led to different organizations traveling with the president.
The article places Dana Bash’s comments alongside the legal and operational fallout: the suspension of the TV pool and the pending court hearing where the outlets argue the ban violates the First Amendment and due process, CBS writes.
We linked related reporting on this site for readers who want the fuller timeline and reaction: see coverage of the original White House ban and how networks responded.
Sources
- CBS News — CBS Mornings interview with Dana Bash on Sep. 22, 2026 and explainer on the White House press pool, the TV pool suspension, and the outlets’ lawsuit.
- Yahoo — video clipping and summary of Dana Bash’s quote referencing the CBS segment.
