CNN's Jake Tapper Presses Trump UN Ambassador on White House Press Pool Ban

CNN anchor Jake Tapper directly confronted President Donald Trump's UN Ambassador Mike Waltz on Sunday, urging him to intervene in the White House's decision to bar CNN from the press pool.

During the interview, Tapper criticized the administration for preventing CNN from fulfilling its pool assignment on behalf of five major television networks. "I would just ask if you could please convey to President Trump to let CNN back in the pool," Tapper said. "It was not OK when President Obama tried to freeze FOX out of the pool back in 2009. And I don't think we want a world where presidents decide who gets to cover them."

Waltz pushed back against Tapper's plea, reiterating the administration's stance that news organizations must provide "fair and objective and well-sourced reporting." He also claimed personal negative experiences with media coverage, stating, "We need a free and fair and honest press corps without an agenda that tries to take facts to fit a narrative."

Waltz cited CNN's coverage of former President Joe Biden and pointed to the continued access granted to The Washington Post and The New York Times, which have also published unfavorable stories, as evidence that the ban was not solely about negative reporting. "So that's a false narrative that it's about negative reporting," Waltz argued.

Tapper challenged this, quoting Trump's own remarks about "something wrong with a country where people are allowed to report things that are purposely negative." Waltz maintained that the President was referring to general media bias and the use of anonymous sourcing, expressing Trump's frustration with perceived bias across the media landscape.

Tapper concluded the exchange by noting that "As has every single president that I've ever covered been frustrated with the press."

The White House had initially banned CNN, along with MS NOW and Politico, earlier this month, accusing them of peddling "fake news" in a social media post. Major broadcasters, including Fox News, NBC, CBS, and ABC, had refused to cover the President in solidarity with the banned outlets.

Just days later, the White House appeared to reverse its decision. CNN reported being allowed back into the White House on Thursday afternoon. This followed a federal judge's temporary restraining order that forced the administration to restore access to Politico, CNN, and MS NOW. However, the White House reportedly still denied access and confiscated credentials for some employees on Thursday morning before eventually permitting them entry later in the day.