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By Irie Sentner |
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THE CATCH-UP |
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The covered television positions for CNN on the North Lawn of the White House are photographed Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) | AP |
President Donald Trump cut the ribbon this afternoon on his latest substantial alteration to the White House grounds: a massive helipad on the complex’s South Lawn emblazoned with the presidential seal. Not a single major network carried the historic event live. Following Trump’s announcement last week banning CNN, MS NOW and POLITICO from the White House, the TV pool declined to participate in White House pool duties today — putting Washington into uncharted territory and cutting continuous network coverage of the president for the first time in decades as Trump attempts to curtail which media outlets can access the People’s House. “Effective today, the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the President,” Fox News Washington Bureau Chief and current TV pool chair Bryan Boughton wrote in an email today to TV pool subscribers. “This follows the White House’s position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties. There will be no replacement pool put in place.” More from POLITICO’s Ben Johansen and Megan Messerly The development comes during a particularly prominent week for Trump to be broadcast on the global stage. This afternoon, he will travel to New York City, where he’ll meet with world leaders and address the United Nations at its annual General Assembly tomorrow. Later this week, Trump will meet with Xi Jinping at the White House — marking the Chinese leader’s first time in the U.S. since 2023, and his first return to Washington since 2015.
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It also comes hours after CNN, MS NOW and POLITICO filed a lawsuit challenging the White House ban, arguing it violates the Constitution. That suit will be overseen by U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee who ruled in 2018 to restore then CNN correspondent Jim Acosta’s White House access when the first Trump administration attempted to revoke it, per POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein. The only television outlet scheduled to travel with the president on his trip to New York is Real America’s Voice, a conservative online outlet whose shows include “The Charlie Kirk Show” and Steve Bannon’s “War Room.” It was not immediately clear to what extent, if at all, the outlet would disseminate footage and other information to the broader press corps. Real America’s Voice did not immediately respond to a request for comment. “The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting,” read a joint statement from ABC News, CBS News, CNN, Fox News Media and NBC News, the five White House television pool members. Trump and the White House, for now, are standing by the bans. “The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish. It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social this morning. Taking questions from reporters outside Air Force Two this morning ahead of a trip to North Carolina, VP JD Vance argued that Trump is “not banning media outlets” but rather revoking “special access to the White House if you engage in what is effectively propaganda.” He claimed that coverage of Trump and the administration by the three banned outlets is “92% … negative.” Meanwhile, CNN’s Kevin Liptak and Kaitlan Collins report that Trump issued the bans last week after White House aide Natalie Harp showed him coverage from the three outlets, though it's unclear what specific coverage Harp reportedly shared. And yet, CNN remains the TV pool outlet covering Secretary of State Marco Rubio today and recorded him ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange to celebrate the start of the U.N. General Assembly. Good Monday afternoon. This is Irie Sentner. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at isentner@politico.com.
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7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW |
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1. UNGA FUNGA: Seven candidates are running to be the next leader of the U.N., and at its annual general assembly this week in New York, a top priority for each will be mollifying a president who has relentlessly criticized the world body, POLITICO's Daniella Cheslow reports from the U.N HQ. “Trump’s impact is huge” on the field of candidates, said Daniel Safran-Hon, who worked in the U.N. for nearly two decades, including in the office of the secretary-general. “Messaging about the need to reform, the need to refocus the organization, the need to be more efficient, 100% that is absolutely an appeal to U.S. constituencies.” More from Mamdanistan: NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani is meeting tomorrow on the UNGA sidelines with Norwegian PM Gahr Støre after a weekend of confabs with democratic socialist mayors from Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, Spain and France, POLITICO’s Chris Sommerfeldt and Joe Anuta report. It’s a signal of Mamdani’s desire to build connections with fellow progressive leaders abroad. 2. CHINA WATCH: “Trump’s Taiwan retreat tests his chief China hawk’s influence,” by POLITICO’s Phelim Kine: The National Security Council’s Ivan Kanapathy “has devoted his career in Washington to warning of China’s expanding military footprint and arguing for the U.S. to prioritize defending Taiwan. But halfway through Trump’s second term, that viewpoint is losing out. … As Trump hosts Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Washington this week, it is inevitable that the issue of China’s claim of sovereignty over Taiwan comes up. … How Trump responds is important for not just Taiwan but other regional powers — who are watching closely to see if they feel they can still count on the U.S. to defend the region against Beijing.” 3. STATE OF AI: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is expected today to announce next steps for implementing the state’s landmark AI safety legislation — placing herself in stark contrast to a president who has labeled concerns about the potentially existential threat AI poses as a “hoax,” POLITICO’s Madison Fernandez reports. Right next door, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill told POLITICO’s Debra Kahn she favored letting local governments make their own decisions rather than putting a blanket moratorium on the hot-button projects, which Hochul did in July.
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4. IN THE COURTS: “Max Miller threatens legal action over Democratic challenger’s ‘defamatory’ ad,” by POLITICO’s Riley Rogerson: “Rep. Max Miller is threatening legal action to block a television ad created by his Democratic challenger, Brian Poindexter, that includes allegations of domestic abuse. … A lawyer for Miller is demanding Cleveland-area television station WKYC stop publishing ‘false, malicious, and defamatory statements’ in a cease-and-desist letter sent Thursday and shared with POLITICO by the Poindexter campaign. Miller has previously denied the abuse accusations. … In a video response shared with POLITICO — which the campaign will use to fundraise — Poindexter rips up the letter.” 5. THE BLAME GAME: Trump has mentioned Joe Biden in public remarks and social media posts nearly 900 times this year — an average of three times per day — continuing to center his presidential predecessor in his political messaging amid sagging approval ratings as Republicans face increasing midterm headwinds, according to an analysis by Reuters’ Bo Erickson and colleagues.
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6. THE DOGE DAYS: Tyler Hassen speaks with WaPo’s Elizabeth Dwoskin to preview his forthcoming memoir, “Inside DOGE: The Real Story from a Senior Insider,” which details the 11 months he spent onboard Trump’s government-shaking endeavor and “is the first tell-all to emerge from one of the most controversial periods of President Donald Trump’s time in office — a moment Hassen said he would gladly live through again.” He described his stint as an “exhilarating, chaotic, and sometimes scary experience.” 7. TOP TALKER: Retiring Democratic Maine Rep. Jared Golden is breaking with his party again — jumping into the tightly contested race for New York’s 17th District to back Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, a top target for Democrats who hope Cait Conley can flip the seat. “Mike Lawler has been a true partner to me and a friend to fishing families he will never represent. I strongly back him, and I hope voters send him back to work,” Golden wrote in an op-ed.
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TALK OF THE TOWN |
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PERFECT TIMING — The FAA closed air space in the Northeast for 30 minutes this afternoon and issued ground stops at several major airports due to a construction accident, per CBS News’ Chris Van Cleave. The disruptions come as the global diplomatic corps descends on New York City for UNGA. Meanwhile, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator TK rolled out the agency’s AI-powered tool to manage flights for the three major Washington-area airports, bringing the technology live to air traffic control operations in the U.S., per POLITICO’s Oriana Pawlyk and Samuel Larreal. MEDICAL MIRACLE — JB Pritzker has been taking a GLP-1 for two years since he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and has lost 80 pounds, the Democratic Illinois governor disclosed in an interview with People’s Janelle Griffith. The revelation comes after Pritzker, a potential 2028 presidential candidate whose noticeable weight loss has been the subject of rampant speculation, declined to answer a question from Vox in February about whether he was taking a weight-loss drug. “I came to the conclusion that it would be helpful to others to hear why I went on a GLP-1 and what the effect has been for me,” Pritzker told People. “It’s been tremendously beneficial.” FROM THE DISTRICT TO THE ISLAND — “Meet Patt Cannaday, D.C.’s Prosecutor-Turned-‘Survivor’ Contestant,” by City Cast DC’s Tristan Espinoza: “Patt Cannaday, a former assistant U.S. attorney and Navy Judge Advocate General, is one of 21 castaways competing for the million-dollar prize on Survivor 51. The new season premieres Wednesday, Sept. 23, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.” GOING TO CALIFORNIA — Retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) is decamping to LA to lead USC’s Center for the Political Future alongside Republican strategist Mike Murphy. Peters will also be appointed the Carmen H. and Louis Warschaw Endowed Chair in Practical Politics. More from USC OUT AND ABOUT — Ned’s Club hosted a CBC week wrap party last night sponsored by the Association for Consumer Debt Relief, with additional sponsorship from Waymo and BP. Grammy-winning Questlove headlined with a private performance in the drawing room, and the menu included passed hors d’oeuvres from Chef Joshua Smith, including caviar cones with smoked salmon, lobster rolls, crab cakes and fried chicken sliders. SPOTTED: Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Marc Veasey (D-Texas), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.) and Janelle Bynum (D-Ore.), D.C. Councilmember Robert C. White Jr., Joiwind Ronen, Emma Mears, Nikki Webber Allen, Brandy Jackson, Malcolm D. Lee, Arjay Smith, Jason Mulvihill, Tiffany Moore, Mary Streett, Melanie Shelby, Vincent Cohen Jr., Carla Sims, Frédéric Yonnet, Tony Woods, Kimberly Bassett, Gina Adams, Svante Myrick, Olivia Igbokwe-Curry, Janice Bryant Howroyd, Kimball Stroud, Joyce Brayboy, DeDe Lea, Tammy Haddad, Senay Bulbul, Michael Reed and Tasia Jackson. WEEKEND WEDDING — Trish Drees, an associate at Kirkland & Ellis, and Alasdair Coleman, a director at Brunswick Group, were married Saturday at the Duke Mansion in Charlotte, North Carolina. The couple met at Lost & Found. SPOTTED: Patti Solis Doyle and Jim Doyle, Ninio Fetalvo, Jim Bognet, Dave Brown and Ben Baum, Alex Masi and Sammi Levy, Noah Ferris and Claire Ryland. Pic TRANSITIONS — Allison Dong is now senior adviser for public affairs at the Treasury Department. She most recently worked for the House Budget Committee and is a Marsha Blackburn and Mike Braun alum. … Campbell Genn is joining Greenberg Traurig as senior director. She most recently worked at the American Bakers Association and is a USDA alum. … Albert “BJ” Stieglitz is joining Mayer Brown’s D.C. office as a partner in its Global Investigations & White Collar Defense practice. He joins from Alston & Bird and spent nearly 13 years at DOJ. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Pacific Legal Foundation’s Emily Balon Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editors Giuseppe Macri, Garrett Ross and Kyler Alvord. Correction: Friday’s Playbook PM misstated Rep. Zach Nunn’s (R-Iowa) name.
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