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President Donald Trump inaugurated a new White House helipad Monday as major television networks suspended pooled coverage of his events.
The ceremony came as CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued the administration over being barred from the White House.
Trump cut a ceremonial ribbon Monday to inaugurate a new helicopter landing pad on the White House South Lawn, but the event received no live pooled television coverage after major networks declined to replace CNN as part of the presidential TV pool. The action came amid a growing dispute between the administration and several news organizations over access to the White House.
The five networks that rotate responsibility for presidential pool coverage — ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC — agreed not to provide a replacement for CNN, which had been scheduled to supply footage of Trump’s events Monday. The pool normally distributes video of presidential activities to television stations and other news organizations, allowing broad access to events that may otherwise have limited camera space.
The dispute followed Trump’s decision Friday to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House. Reporters from the three organizations were subsequently denied entry and had their press credentials deactivated or confiscated. The organizations filed a federal lawsuit Monday, arguing that the administration’s decision violated constitutional protections for freedom of the press and their rights to due process.
Trump has defended the restrictions, saying the administration was targeting what he considers false or inaccurate reporting rather than the press generally. Reuters reported that Trump also characterized the media organizations as a national security threat, a claim he did not substantiate publicly. The White House did not immediately provide a separate response to the lawsuit beyond Trump’s public statements.
The media dispute was evident during Monday’s helipad ceremony. Trump used oversized scissors to cut a red, white and blue ribbon before departing Washington for New York, where he is scheduled to attend the United Nations General Assembly. Without the regular television pool, there was no independently supplied live network video of the ceremony, although other journalists continued covering the president’s activities.
The helipad was constructed on the South Lawn to accommodate newer Marine One helicopters that are larger and more powerful than the aircraft previously used for presidential transport. Trump has said the project is privately funded by Sikorsky Aircraft, a Lockheed Martin subsidiary, and has put its cost at about $6 million. The project is part of a series of construction changes undertaken around the White House during Trump’s second term.
The dispute over access is now before a federal court, while the suspension of the television pool has created an unusual gap in live visual coverage of the president. The White House pool said other pooled coverage, including events involving members of Congress and other officials, would continue, but no replacement camera would accompany Trump during his presidential activities covered by the pool.