MS NOW said Saturday that its journalists have been denied access to the White House grounds, a day after President Donald Trump said in a social media post he had banned the news outlet alongside CNN and Politico over what he called their “constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS.”“The White House belongs to the American people and the decisions made inside are funded by our tax dollars,” MS NOW said in a statement posted on X.“MS NOW intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalists in our democracy,” it added.The First Amendment guarantees freedom of the press.The White House declined to further comment Saturday, referring NBC News to Trump’s previous comments.In a Truth Social post Friday afternoon, Trump said media outlets “shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States.”Trump also warned “other outlets” would “follow” but did not specify which.All three outlets had continued to report from the White House on Friday after the announcement.“CNN stands fully behind our White House team and their fair and accurate reporting,” the network said Friday.Politico Press, the publication’s communications team, said in a post on X that Trump’s claims that Politico “received government subsidies are false and have been thoroughly debunked.”“POLITICO will continue to fairly report on this White House and future ones.
We will vigorously defend our First Amendment rights against any attempt to restrict them,” the post said.Trump, responding to a reporter in the Oval Office shortly after announcing the ban, said the new policy was the result of “cumulative stories over the last few years.” He did not specify a particular news report, and a White House spokesperson referred NBC News to the president’s spoken comments.The move has drawn broad criticism.During a speaking engageme...