Trump has tense exchange with CNNs Kaitlan Collins at United Nations after White House media ban: You should not be here
On a day of high-stakes diplomacy on the global stage, President Donald Trump began his United Nations visit by telling a prominent U.S.journalist, “You should not be here.”“It’s an honor to be here,” Trump said as he entered U.N.
doors Tuesday ahead of his speech to the General Assembly and faced Kaitlan Collins of CNN, a frequent target of his ire.“I’m surprised that CNN is here covering me.
You should not be here covering me.You said you weren’t going to cover me.”As Collins noted later on air, CNN said nothing of the kind.
The administration had banned CNN from White House grounds days earlier — along with MS NOW and Politico — and removed the network from pool duty.But CNN had been admitted into the U.N.
as regularly credentialed media.In any case, the tense moment was a stark reminder of how dramatically the bitter conflict between Trump and news outlets whose coverage he objects to as “fake news” has escalated in just a few days.The current ban was the subject of a joint lawsuit filed Monday by the three outlets, asking a judge to find the administration’s move unconstitutional.The White House had until Tuesday to respond, and a hearing is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.Later Tuesday, Trump doubled down on his remarks and said negative coverage was dangerous for the country.Asked whether he would allow the outlets back in if the court rules against the White House, he said, “Well, it probably will, because this is a judge who’s not a particularly fair judge.” He was referring to U.S.
District Judge Timothy Kelly, whom he appointed in 2017 and who ordered a CNN journalist’s access restored in a similar case in 2018.“So you never know,” Trump added.“I think we have a right to clean out fake news.”Trump’s comments echoed others he’s made since announcing the ban Friday.
He has referred to “purposely negative stories,” but cited no specific stories — only generally “fake news” — as ju...