Jim Acosta challenged being banned from the White House during Donald Trump's first term.
Posted by The Briefing with Jen Psaki, Checked
- Sources
- 5 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 92%
The Briefing with Jen PsakiSep 24, 2026
… 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 discuss why Trump's bad news makes him angry at the news media. Jen Psaki explains that despite the importance of the visit to the United States by China's President Xi, the fuss Trump made to greet Xi was not covered by the TV press pool because …
Multiple tier1 and tier2 sources (AP, Reuters, Politico, CNN) report that a federal judge ordered the White House to restore Jim Acosta's press pass in November 2018 after his ban, and the White House later fully restored it, confirming Acosta successfully challenged the ban during Trump's first term.
What we found
Supports. AP and Reuters report a federal judge ordered the White House to restore CNN correspondent Jim Acosta's press pass in November 2018 after it was revoked.[1][2]
Supports. CNN reported on November 19, 2018 that the White House fully restored Acosta's press pass and CNN dropped the lawsuit, showing the challenge succeeded.[3]
Supports. Acosta himself, in a 2026 NPR interview, states the judge ruled in his favor and the White House returned his press pass during Trump's first term.[4][5]
Context. The 2018 events occurred during Trump's first term, and the passage's phrasing matches the sources' account.[6][7]
Sources
7 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 3 tier 2, 2 not rated
- 1Judge orders White House to restore press pass to CNN's Jim ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2U.S. judge orders White House to restore press pass ...reuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 3White House backs down from legal fight, restores Jim Acosta ...cnn.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 4Jim Acosta on Trump's White House media bannpr.org · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 5A journalist once barred from the White House says this ...houstonpublicmedia.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6Judge orders White House to return press credentials to CNN's Acostapolitico.com · tier 2 · cited for: context
- 7Is Trump's latest White House media ban legal? It could get complicatedthenewstribune.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order restoring Jim Acosta's press pass after he was banned by Donald Trump in 2018.True
- Donald Trump revoked Jim Acosta's press pass the day after the 2018 midterm election.True
- Donald Trump previously banned a member of the news media from the White House following a midterm election.True
- Three news organizations sued the Trump administration over its decision to ban journalists from the White House.True
- Donald Trump banned CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House.True