Scott Jennings urged President Donald Trump to follow a judge’s order restoring White House access to CNN, MS NOW and Politico. The White House blocked CNN and MS NOW from covering arrivals at Trump’s state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping, then restored access.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a 14-day temporary restraining order early Thursday, ordering the administration to restore the outlets’ press credentials. The order followed a lawsuit over Trump’s ban, announced the previous Friday, and was issued before a fuller review of the case.
Jennings called the court outcome predictable and the administration’s handling a communications miss, saying Trump and the public would want full coverage of the event. The White House defended the dinner restriction as a “pre-credentialed event” and said the outlets were not entitled to access every White House event or press call.
