Additional Coverage:
- NewsMax fans joke ‘this is the funniest thing I’ve seen all day’ as Trump’s media ban backfires (themirror.com)
President Donald Trump’s recent decision to exclude major news outlets from White House coverage has sparked a striking protest from the press corps-and resulted in an unusually quiet event at the White House.
On Monday, September 21, during a ribbon-cutting ceremony, the usual buzz of reporters and live audio was noticeably absent. Due to a boycott by the press pool in response to the administration’s media ban, the event streamed on NewsMax without any audio for a full nine minutes, leaving viewers unable to hear a single word. This silent broadcast highlighted the growing tensions between the White House and several prominent news organizations.
The boycott was triggered after President Trump barred CNN, MSNBC, and Politico from attending official White House events, labeling them as “fake news.” In a show of unity, the remaining news outlets-including Fox, NBC, CBS, and ABC-refused to cover the president’s appearances in solidarity with the excluded networks. The TV pool issued a statement confirming that no pool coverage of the president would take place “effective today,” and that no replacement pool would be arranged.
This coordinated refusal means that for events like Monday’s ceremony-and potentially many others in the near future-there will be no televised footage of the president’s activities shared with the public. CNN’s Kaitlan Collins explained the impact live on air, noting that without pool cameras, the public will lose visual access to the daily work of the president.
Meanwhile, the White House announced plans to shift official event coverage to state-run media accessible through the White House app, signaling no immediate reversal in its stance toward major news outlets.
Social media quickly reacted to the silent broadcast, with many users finding humor in the awkward situation. Comments ranged from playful jabs about the administration “hijacking the plane” to expressions of relief at watching the event on mute.
As the standoff continues, it remains uncertain whether President Trump will reconsider his exclusion of key media organizations. For now, the press corps’ boycott underscores the significant consequences of the administration’s controversial media restrictions-and how they may reshape public access to presidential coverage going forward.