The White House press shop was not given advance notice of President Trump's decision to ban certain media outlets from White House grounds.
Posted by The Michael Berry Show, Checked
- Sources
- 3 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 85%
The Michael Berry ShowSep 23, 2026
Multiple reliable outlets reported that White House press shop staff were blindsided by Trump's September 2026 ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico and learned of it only from his Truth Social post, which supports the claim as of 2026-09-23. The claim is faithful to the passage, and the ban itself was announced on September 18, 2026.
The played clip relays this claim without endorsing it. It counts as passed on, not against the post.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… Yes, we had heard President Trump earlier this week say that he was going to ban CNMS, Now, and Politico from White House, the White House grounds. The President clearly following up on that promise, but one thing that I had reported was that sources at the White House were unaware that this was happening. They were not given a heads up ahead of the President's post, and that included people in the White House press shop. So it took some time for the logistics of how exactly this would be enforced, how it would work, to actually get through, and that is why this morning we were no longer able to access White House grounds. …
The Michael Berry Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. Politico reported that the press shop was blindsided and unsure how to respond, and that many senior staff weren't aware of the directive until they saw Trump's post.[1]
Supports. CNN reported that some White House staffers were caught off guard by the announcement, including some members of the press shop, and were left scrambling for details.[2]
Supports. NBC reported that a number of high-level White House aides were unaware beforehand of the ban, according to four White House officials, which is consistent with the press shop not being warned.[3]
Context. Trump announced the ban on Truth Social on Friday, September 18, 2026, and the White House later sent formal notification letters on September 23, after the announcement.[2][4]
Sources
4 sources: 4 tier 2
- 1Inside the White House media banpolitico.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 2Trump says he’s ‘banning’ CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the ...cnn.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports, context
- 3Trump's focus on the press distracts Republicans from ...nbcnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 4DOJ defends Trump White House media ban, citing national security and "professionalism and decorum"cbsnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
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