White House TV pool appears to be back in operation, but CNN's media analyst calls situation 'fluid'

network video pool for the White House appeared to be back in operation Friday, although the situation “remains fluid,” according to the media analyst for CNN, one of three outlets that were banned for three days. A judge temporarily struck down the ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico on Thursday, but his ruling didn’t directly address the pool, which consists of five major U.S. broadcast outlets that take turns shooting and sharing video.

In a show of solidarity, the other four had declined to participate in the video pool until CNN was reinstated. CNN was not commenting directly, referring instead to its editorial coverage. But Brian Stelter, the network’s media analyst, posted on X that the major networks plan to resume TV pool coverage of Trump events on Friday.

He said CNN has a pool assignment at the National Archives with U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and that the White House had approved the network’s credentials for the event. A daily White House press schedule listed CBS as one of the pool assignments Friday.

CNN also had a pool assignment Friday, and an Associated Press journalist saw the network preparing on site. network video pool for the White House was back in operation Friday, for the first time since President Donald Trump banned three news outlets in an extraordinary showdown over media access. At noon on CNN, viewers could see Trump and President Xi Jinping touring the National Archives, along with Melania Trump and Peng Liyuan, Xi’s wife.

The banner along the bottom of the screen read: “Trump and China’s Xi Visit National Archives.” It was a routine report from a state visit — but for the fact that CNN had not aired live video of Trump in several days. “As of now, all systems are go,” said a person familiar with the pool, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the fluidity of the situation. The pool consists of five major U.S.

When the White House banned CNN — which belongs to the pool — from White House grounds, along with MS NOW and Politico, the other four pool providers declined to participate in a show of solidarity. A judge temporarily struck down the ban in an overnight ruling early Thursday, but his ruling didn’t directly address the pool. The networks continued to refrain from covering Trump as part of the pool, even as reporters from all three outlets were allowed back in the White House.