Melania Trump Approves CNN Coverage Amid Husband's Media Ban
The First Lady's office granted credentials to CNN for an event, a move that contrasts with President Trump's recent ban on the network.
First Lady Melania Trump has granted CNN an olive branch amid a ban imposed by her husband, President Donald Trump, on the news network and two other outlets from the White House. The First Lady's office approved CNN's request to cover an event with her this week in Manhattan, a decision that stands in contrast to the White House's recent actions.
President Trump announced Friday that he was banning CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House, citing allegations of "fake news." The ban resulted in Secret Service agents confiscating press passes from journalists and led to disrupted coverage plans for the president's trip to the UN General Assembly. CNN, which had been assigned a camera crew and reporter for the UN event, was removed from the White House's traveling press corps on Sunday.
However, CNN's senior White House reporter, Betsy Klein, confirmed Monday that her credential to cover an event with the First Lady on the sidelines of the UN had been approved. The event, scheduled for Tuesday at the St. Regis hotel, is expected to involve an announcement related to Melania Trump's "Fostering the Future Together" initiative.
The President's ban, which he characterized not as an assault on the free press but on "fake news," led to major US broadcast networks including Fox News, CNN, CBS, NBC, and ABC to collectively state they would not send camera crews to cover Trump at the UN.
In response to the ban, CNN, MS NOW, and Politico announced their intention to file a lawsuit against the administration, asserting that the revocation of their journalists' credentials "threatens press freedom and the public's right to independent journalism free from government interference." This legal challenge brings the situation to familiar ground for US District Judge Timothy Kelly, who was appointed by President Trump and previously ordered the White House to restore CNN journalist Jim Acosta's credentials in 2018 after they were revoked.
"Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists' credentials because it objected to our reporting," the media outlets stated. "Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public's right to independent journalism free from government interference."