White House TV pool in limbo amid high stakes Xi visit

The White House television pool was in limbo Thursday as the status of the major networks’ place in the press pool remained unclear following the reinstatement of CNN’s access to White House grounds.

Journalists from ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News were on hand at the White House Thursday ready to cover Chinese President Xi Jinping’s high-stakes state visit to Washington, but they continued their boycott of the press pool given the uncertainty surrounding CNN, which along with MS NOW and Politico had been banned by Trump last week from the White House over what he said was unfair coverage of him and his administration.

The absence of a network television presence in the press pool was particularly felt Thursday during Xi’s visit.

None of the major networks carried Xi’s arrival with Trump at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday, and while ABC was listed as primary for the television pool for the second day of the state visit, the outlet did not carry Trump’s events or air footage of Thursday’s events. Print, radio and secondary television journalists have continued to cover Trump in the pool throughout the ban and were present throughout Xi’s visit.

Journalists from the major networks joined other members of the press gathering for the arrival ceremony and military review, but they notably held out from covering the event until they had proof CNN, MS NOW and Politico had their access restored.

Journalists from the three outlets were allowed back onto the White House grounds midday Thursday after a judge ruled in favor of the outlets following Trump’s ban last week. However, earlier in the day, journalists from the outlets were denied access despite the ruling.

Crowds of reporters were seen gathering at the row of tents and cameras by the White House North Lawn known as Pebble Beach to watch as reporters from the previously banned outlets did their first live shots from the lawn and returned to their workspaces.

“It’s good to be back,” MS NOW White House correspondent Akayla Gardner said in a post on social platform X along with a screenshot of her live shot at the White House.

Questions over the press pool and the return of the banned outlets only added to the chaotic nature of the day.

Thursday’s White House schedule was packed with state visit events, which included a South Lawn arrival ceremony, remarks from both leaders, a Rose Garden military review and bilateral meetings.

The White House grounds were also more crowded than usual with additional U.S. and foreign press, including the Chinese press corps covering Xi.

Tensions ran high between Chinese journalists and the White House staff as journalists clamored to cover both world leaders. Videos shared online showed Chinese journalists appearing to refuse to move for the Secret Service on the South Lawn, resulting in raised voices and Secret Service staff having to physically move some Chinese journalists out of the way.

The journalists who were present in the press pool did get a chance to shout questions at Trump and Xi as the U.S. president showed his Chinese counterpart the presidential helicopter known as Marine One.

“We had a great meeting,” Trump told reporters, not answering other questions on topics including fentanyl, Taiwan, artificial intelligence and imprisoned Hong Kong businessman Jimmy Lai.

Trump railed against MS NOW and CNN in a Truth Social post prior to Thursday’s state dinner, accusing them of “refusing” to cover the state visit despite being banned.

“The event was magnificent — Actually made for Television but, because they’re Fake News, and because they knew how good it would be, they didn’t want credit to be given to “TRUMP,” they refused to be there,” Trump said.