Politics briefing

White House leaves CNN off Air Force One for Trump's Tennessee trip, seats Real America's Voice

The White House removed CNN from the Saturday Air Force One press pool for President Trump's Knoxville college-football trip and listed Real America's Voice instead. A federal TRO had restored CNN's White House hard pass days earlier but did not explicitly cover pool duties or Air Force One.

By US Brief desk · Updated 2026-09-27T04:10:00-07:00

Boeing VC-25 Air Force One parked on the tarmac with mountains in the background (file photo)

Editor’s note: Facts follow the Associated Press (Sarah Rankin and Hallie Golden, via The Philadelphia Inquirer), NBC News (Casey Wooten), and BBC News (Claire Keenan), all Sep 26, 2026. The White House did not respond to AP's request for comment; CNN declined to comment. Real America's Voice's on-air claim that it had "taken over" the TV-pool role is the outlet's own characterization — AP noted the written pool report said there was "no TV pool" for the travel. Judge Kelly's TRO restored hard passes to White House grounds and did not expressly order restoration of television-pool or Air Force One seats.

The White House left CNN off Air Force One for President Donald Trump's Saturday trip to a University of Tennessee–University of Texas college football game in Knoxville, replacing the network's scheduled television-pool seat with Real America's Voice, a conservative outlet that is not a member of the U.S. network video pool, the Associated Press and NBC News reported.

How the swap happened: CNN said it had been scheduled to fly with Trump as part of rotating pool duties that share video of the president with the broader press corps. White House media guidance issued Friday night instead listed Real America's Voice and did not list another major-network pool member as a substitute, AP and NBC reported. A written pool report Saturday morning confirmed there was "no TV pool" for the travel, though Real America's Voice correspondent Taylor Mitchell said in a social-media video, "CNN is not here; we have taken over that responsibility. We are so excited to be here." The White House did not respond to AP's emails seeking comment; CNN declined to comment.

Trump's Saturday message: On Saturday morning the president wrote on Truth Social, "FAKE NEWS SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED IN THE WHITE HOUSE!!! IT HAS GONE ON FAR TOO LONG, AT A TREMENDOUS COST TO OUR COUNTRY," AP and BBC reported. A White House communications account separately posted on X that, "contrary to what the Fake News wants you to believe, they don't just get to have free rein into every part of the White House, every event and every press call," the BBC said.

What the court order covered — and what it did not: U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly granted a 14-day temporary restraining order early Thursday requiring the administration to restore White House hard passes for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico after Trump banned the three outlets from the grounds last week. AP, NBC, and BBC all note that the order addressed access to White House grounds and did not expressly require restoration of television-pool duties or seats on Air Force One. Theodore Boutrous Jr., an attorney for the three outlets, said Friday on CNN's The Lead with Jake Tapper that the plaintiffs believe the ruling also covers pool access; he did not respond to AP over the weekend.

Pool solidarity and a brief restart: When CNN was barred from the grounds, the other four U.S. network video-pool members — Fox News, ABC, CBS, and NBC — declined to participate in a show of solidarity, AP and NBC reported. Pool coverage briefly resumed Friday for Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping's National Archives visit, with CNN airing live video for the first time in several days, before Saturday's Air Force One exclusion. Fans at Neyland Stadium later saw a low-altitude Air Force One flyover; Trump's motorcade arrived during the national anthem, according to a text pool report cited by AP.

Why it matters: The White House Correspondents' Association-designed press pool exists so a rotating roster travels with the president and distributes reports and imagery to the wider press corps. Seating a non-pool outlet on Air Force One while a TRO has restored hard-pass access tests how far court relief reaches beyond the White House fence — and whether the administration can reshape who documents the president's travel. The fight sits alongside earlier second-term access battles, including the AP's ongoing litigation after it was restricted over Gulf of Mexico naming guidance.

What's next: Watch whether Boutrous and the plaintiff outlets seek clarifying court relief on pool and Air Force One access before Kelly's 14-day TRO expires, whether the major-network pool resumes or again stands down, and how the White House staffs the next presidential travel pool.

Method note: US Brief digests are AI-assisted from the US Brief desk. We synthesize reputable reporting with cited sources; we do not invent quotes, figures, or forecasts.

Follow US Brief: Bluesky · X · RSS

Full interactive version requires JavaScript. https://us-brief.com/article/pol-cnn-af1-tennessee

National & world Daily briefing

Know what happened.
Know why it matters.

Get clear, sourced briefings on US news, politics, technology, world affairs, finance, and entertainment. Catch up in minutes—no clickbait, no wasted time.

Back to Politics briefing Politics

White House leaves CNN off Air Force One for Trump's Tennessee trip, seats Real America's Voice

The White House removed CNN from the Saturday Air Force One press pool for President Trump's Knoxville college-football trip and listed Real America's Voice instead. A federal TRO had restored CNN's White House hard pass days earlier but did not explicitly cover pool duties or Air Force One.

By US Brief desk · Updated 2026-09-27T04:10:00-07:00

AI-assisted digests from the US Brief desk. Synthesizes reputable reporting with cited sources; not a wire service. Corrections welcomed.

Boeing VC-25 Air Force One parked on the tarmac with mountains in the background (file photo)

The White House left CNN off Air Force One for President Donald Trump's Saturday trip to a University of Tennessee–University of Texas college football game in Knoxville, replacing the network's scheduled television-pool seat with Real America's Voice, a conservative outlet that is not a member of the U.S. network video pool, the Associated Press and NBC News reported.

How the swap happened: CNN said it had been scheduled to fly with Trump as part of rotating pool duties that share video of the president with the broader press corps. White House media guidance issued Friday night instead listed Real America's Voice and did not list another major-network pool member as a substitute, AP and NBC reported. A written pool report Saturday morning confirmed there was "no TV pool" for the travel, though Real America's Voice correspondent Taylor Mitchell said in a social-media video, "CNN is not here; we have taken over that responsibility. We are so excited to be here." The White House did not respond to AP's emails seeking comment; CNN declined to comment.

Like US Brief? You can support it with a tip.