President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he would “probably” allow CNN, MS Now, and Politico back onto the White House grounds if he loses a lawsuit filed by the news organizations.
Trump said on Monday that he plans to fight the lawsuit, filed in Washington, D.C., after he banned all three outlets for publishing what he called “fake news” and negative coverage. The lawsuit alleges the administration violated due process and the First Amendment.
“I probably will,” the president told reporters when asked if he would abide by the judge’s eventual ruling. “It’s a judge who’s not a particularly fair judge, and so you never know.”
Trump, speaking during a bilateral meeting in New York with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, argued that the ban was a national security matter and that he has “a right to clean out fake news.”
“By the way, they said they weren’t going to be here, but they came. I knew that would happen. What, are they not going to be with [Chinese President Xi Jinping] tomorrow?” he added. “We have a lot of fake news, and I think when news is fake and it’s actually dangerous, I think I have the right to clear it out.”
Pressed to clarify how unfavorable coverage damages national security, Trump answered, “When they make statements about the war, when they make false statements, false, malicious, and they don’t have sources, but they say they do.”
“It’s very dangerous for our country,” he concluded. “I won’t stand for it.”
In 2018, the president sought to strip press credentials from Jim Acosta, then working for CNN, and other journalists. He would eventually drop that ban after losing a federal lawsuit.
TRUMP TAKES A SWIPE AT CNN AHEAD OF UN SPEECH: ‘YOU SHOULDN’T BE COVERING ME’
The television pool, comprising CNN, ABC, CBS, Fox News, and NBC News, responded to Trump’s most recent actions by announcing it would refrain from covering his events until the ban is lifted.
Watch Trump’s comments in full: