Trump Attacks His Own Judge After Banning Outlets From White House

Donald Trump barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, then attacked the Trump-appointed judge assigned to hear their lawsuit after declaring that the outlets should not be allowed access to the Oval Office.

The three outlets filed their First Amendment challenge on Monday, September 21, after Trump announced the ban on Friday, September 18, and their White House credentials were confiscated the next day. The lawsuit challenges a ban the outlets say was imposed over coverage Trump disliked.

Trump’s White House insists access is a “privilege — not a right,” claiming it removed the outlets over years of false reporting. But the regime’s own statement identifies CNN, MS NOW and Politico by name, making clear that the president singled out news organizations whose coverage he brands “fake news.” The White House published that defense on September 21.

Hours earlier, Trump stood outside Gracie Mansion with Mayor Zohran Mamdani and praised the mayor’s potential. Mamdani then drew a line Trump would not: New York City, he said, would welcome every member of the press.

Trump did not defend a neutral press-access policy. He announced that three named outlets would lose access because he disapproved of their journalism.

Then the case landed before U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly — a judge Trump nominated during his first term.

Trump Banned the Press, Then Turned on His Own Judge

In a post attacking the lawsuit, Trump wrote that CNN, Politico and MS NOW had “drawn a great judge for them” and predicted an appeal before Kelly had ruled on a single issue in the case.

Trump also complained that Kelly “was sadly appointed by Trump.”

That is not a disputed detail. Kelly is a District Judge for the District of Columbia, and the court’s biography records his appointment to the federal bench.

Trump’s post framed the case as another battle against outlets that write negatively about him. But the government does not get to convert presidential irritation into a licensing system for the press.

The White House has already made its position plain: coverage Trump calls false or unfair can become grounds for exclusion from the grounds where presidents make decisions affecting the entire country.

And Trump is already treating the judge as suspect because he once ruled against the White House.

They have drawn a great judge for them, a man who ruled in favor of Jim Acosta. The judge’s name is Tim Kelly, and he was sadly appointed by Trump.

Donald Trump, September 21, 2026

Kelly did rule in favor of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta in 2018 after the first Trump administration revoked Acosta’s press credential. The court ordered the White House to restore it while the case proceeded, finding that Acosta was likely to prevail on his due-process claim. The earlier dispute ended after the credential was returned.

Trump now invokes that history as evidence that Kelly cannot be trusted with a case involving a new press ban.

Mamdani gave the opposite answer outside Gracie Mansion when asked about Trump’s decision to bar the outlets.

“We’re going to have all of the members of the press here on the lawn,” Mamdani said. “That is something that I believe in as everyone, no matter the opinion or the critique that we engage.”

The contrast was immediate. Trump used White House access to punish institutions for coverage. Mamdani said criticism would not determine which reporters could cover City Hall.

The president had traveled to New York City for the United Nations General Assembly and met with Mamdani at the mayor’s official residence. The meeting marked their third in-person encounter.

Trump praised Mamdani and Gracie Mansion during the appearance, saying he wanted the mayor to succeed because he wanted what was good for New York.

But a president who says he wants what is good for the country does not get to choose which national newsrooms may stand near the White House.

Mamdani Is Seeking Federal Help, Without Surrendering the City

Mamdani made clear that he will continue meeting with Trump because federal power can determine whether New Yorkers remain detained, whether immigration protections receive attention, and whether major housing construction gets off the ground.

He said a previous meeting produced the release of two students whose names his office had brought to Trump after they were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

One Columbia University student was released after Mamdani raised her detention directly with Trump earlier this year. The release came after federal agents detained her at campus housing.

Mamdani’s message was blunt: If a conversation can make the difference between detention and dignity, he will take the meeting.

The mayor also pressed Trump on Sunnyside Yard, a Queens development proposal that Mamdani says could produce 12,000 homes and 30,000 jobs.

Trump acknowledged that the project would require substantial federal approvals and likely federal money. Mamdani has repeatedly said the development cannot move forward without federal participation. City Hall has described Sunnyside Yard as a 12,000-home, 30,000-job project.

That is the constraint Mamdani is navigating: Trump controls federal agencies and funding decisions New York City needs, while the Trump regime continues to wield access and immigration enforcement as political weapons.

Trump’s Press Crackdown Lands as His Support Erodes

Trump’s decision to blacklist major news outlets comes as his standing with the public has sunk.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted September 17 through 20 put Trump’s overall approval at 32%, with 66% disapproving. Approval among Republicans fell from 82% a week earlier to 73%, while Republican approval of Trump’s handling of the cost of living also declined. Ipsos published the results Monday.

The White House’s response has not been to answer the public’s concerns about costs. It has been to narrow the circle of journalists allowed to question the president.

Trump says the Oval Office deserves decorum, respect and dignity. His regime confiscated press credentials from outlets it dislikes, and he responded to their lawsuit by attacking the judge assigned to hear it.

Mamdani’s Response

Yet Trump cannot make unfavorable coverage disappear by calling it a national-security threat or treating access as a reward for obedience.

CNN, MS NOW and Politico are in court. Kelly will decide the case. And New York City’s mayor has made clear that reporters will still be welcome to ask hard questions on his lawn.