US Vice President JD Vance talks to reporters before boarding Air Force Two at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on September 21, 2026, on his way to Greensboro, North Carolina. KENT NISHIMURA/Pool via REUTERS
Vice President JD Vance insisted President Donald Trump is "not banning media outlets," three days after the president literally said that he was "banning" three of them.
Vance took questions from reporters Monday morning at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, shortly before leaving for a campaign stop in North Carolina. The White House rapid response account posted a clip of the exchange on X at 10:47 a.m., stacking the vice president's denial directly above a screenshot of Trump's announcement.
"Do you think it's appropriate for the president to be banning media outlets just because he doesn't like what they report?" a reporter asked.
"Well, I take some issue with the premise. So he's not banning media outlets. What he's doing is saying, we're not gonna give you special access to the White House if you engage in what is effectively propaganda," Vance replied.
Trump announced the ban Friday in a Truth Social post that named CNN, MS NOW and Politico.
"I am proud to announce that, effective immediately, I am banning Fake News CNN, MSNOW … and Politico … from the White House as a result of their constant 'reporting' FAKE NEWS! … Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow," Trump wrote.
"Sir, you talked a lot about free speech over the years. How is this not an attack on free speech?" a second reporter asked at the Maryland air base.
"Well, they can still report on the Trump White House. They can still get the public reports. … What the president has said is we're not gonna give you special access inside the White House," Vance said.
"Now why on God's green earth would Donald Trump be expected to give Politico special access when nobody in the media expected the Biden administration or the Obama administration to give Breitbart special access? It's about fairness. They could still report," Vance continued.
"They still have the access to free speech. They're just not gonna get an office in the White House anymore, and I think it's totally appropriate unless, of course, they start to behave like real news organizations," he added.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued Trump and three senior administration officials in federal court in Washington on Monday morning, arguing the ban violates the First Amendment, CNN reported.
Reporters for the three outlets were turned away from the White House complex Saturday and had their press passes taken, according to the network, which said the outlets are asking a judge for an emergency order restoring their credentials.
The White House removed CNN from its scheduled turn Monday as the television crew that films the president and shares the footage with the entire press corps, a job the major networks rotate among themselves, CNN's Brian Stelter reported.
"There will be no replacement pool put in place," Fox News Washington bureau chief Bryan Boughton, who chairs the rotation, wrote to its members Monday, according to Stelter.
As a result, no shared television camera followed Trump on Monday, CNN's Kaitlan Collins said, leaving local stations and outlets worldwide without footage of the president.