CNN’s Brian Stelter Says Trump’s Meeting with Xi Jinping Will Not Be Aired Until TV Pool Gains Assurances from WH

Jose Luis Magana/AP

Reporters from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico may be back in the White House today, but that doesn’t mean the TV pool will be airing footage of President Donald Trump, CNN’s Brian Stelter explained.

Stelter wrote on X, “If you’re wondering the reason why you’re not seeing video of President Trump and Xi Jinping, it’s this: The TV pool that usually handles live coverage of Trump’s events is still in a holding pattern due to his unprecedented ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico.”

He continued:

While journalists for the three outlets are now back at the White House, thanks to a federal judge’s order, the status of the TV pool is a separate matter. The five major networks that make up the pool — CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox News — are waiting on confirmation from the White House that CNN will be allowed to fulfill its pool responsibilities in the future. At the moment, the pool doesn’t have that assurance, so it has not filmed any of Trump and Xi’s events so far today.

A U.S. district judge blocked Trump’s media ban in the early hours of Thursday morning. The networks each confirmed they regained access to the White House later in the day.

Stelter joined CNN’s Dana Bash on the air Thursday to discuss the ban, the lawsuit, and what’s next.

He emphasized the bipartisan support CNN, MS NOW, and Politico had.

“It is so important to underscore the solidarity that the other networks and even beyond the television networks, that other news organizations have shown with CNN and Politico and MS NOW because everybody understands the stakes,” Stelter said.

Stelter also specifically called out Fox News as an “ally.” As he put it, “Fox News has been a real ally of CNN and the other major networks this week. And frankly, I think that’s partly because Fox, yeah, it’s thinking about the past and [Barack] Obama, but it’s also thinking about what happens when a Democrat is back the Oval Office and whether some Democrat would pull a stunt like this.”

The Trump administration first attempted to deny the journalists access to the White House despite the order.

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