Donald Trump previously banned a member of the news media from the White House following a midterm election.
Posted by The Briefing with Jen Psaki, Checked
- Sources
- 2 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 60%
The Briefing with Jen PsakiSep 24, 2026
September 23, 2026 - Jen Psaki points out that the last time Donald Trump lost his cool and tried to ban a member of the news media from the White House he had just been clobbered by a blue wave midterm and his political power was at a nadir. Polling shows him to be even worse off now than he was then. Jim Acosta, former chief White House correspondent for CNN who successfully challenged being banned from the White House in Trump's first term, joins to …
The claim's referent is Trump's first-term attempt to ban CNN's Jim Acosta by revoking his credentials after a contentious news conference about the 2018 midterm elections, which the sources place after that midterm.
This claim is in the show notes, the publisher's own words. It counts against the post, once.
What we found
Supports. The Conversation and the Daily Gazette report that during Trump's first term he sought to ban CNN's Jim Acosta by revoking his credentials following a contentious news conference about the 2018 midterm elections.[2][3]
Supports. The Acosta episode is described as the earlier precedent for the current ban, so the sources tie the earlier attempt to a press-access dispute that followed the 2018 midterms.[2][3]
Context. The current ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico is a separate 2026 action that a judge later ordered reversed in part; it does not bear on whether the earlier 2018 attempt happened.[1][4]
Sources
4 sources: 1 fact-checker, 3 not rated
- 1The Latest: Trump says he is banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House over their coverageapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2How due process, not the First Amendment, got the White ...theconversation.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 3How due process, not the First Amendment, got the White House ban on reporters blocked in courtdailygazette.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 4Three media outlets seek full White House access in ...cnbc.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
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