CNN did not air President Trump’s address to the United Nations on Tuesday, acting as the lone network to boycott the speech amid a media war between the president and the press.
Fox News, ABC, NBC, CBS and MS NOW banded together on Monday and refused to provide a pool camera for the president after he ejected MS NOW, CNN and Politico from the White House.
On Tuesday, all the networks except CNN aired Mr. Trump’s speech to the U.N. General Assembly live using a U.N. television feed.
The broadcast networks aired the address on their streaming video news channels. Fox and MS NOW aired the address live.
The news outlets accessed the address through UNTV, the United Nations’ television news feed, the official broadcast arm of the U.N. It distributes video footage and live feeds to global news organizations.
CNN anchors made no mention of the speech during Mr. Trump’s address. They aired segments about the coroner’s report on actress Hayden Panettiere’s fatal drug overdose and a grand jury’s decision not to bring criminal charges in the death of Mississippi teenager Nolan Wells.
CNN’s reporter at the U.N. gave a summary after Mr. Trump concluded the address. The network showed a clip of Mr. Trump telling the U.N. he believes he’ll make a deal with Iran after the midterm election.
Network pool cameras were not recording the U.N. address and are boycotting presidential coverage in solidarity with CNN, one of five networks that rotate coverage in the White House television pool.
CNN was scheduled to provide TV coverage Monday for all the networks. On Saturday, CNN’s producers and reporters were locked out of the White House and had their badges confiscated. Journalists from MS NOW and Politico were also turned away.
Mr. Trump said he kicked out the three news organizations because they produce “fake news” that is overwhelmingly negative in covering his administration.
The media boycott comes during a critical news week for Mr. Trump
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Washington on Wednesday. Mr. Trump is expected to take the rare step of greeting him at Joint Base Andrews to begin his state visit. There will be a formal arrival ceremony at the White House and a state dinner.
As it stands now, network pool cameras may not be there to record the events.
The ousted networks sued to reinstate access to the White House and arguments are slated for Wednesday in U.S. District Court.
Follow the author
Please read our comment policy before commenting.