President Donald Trump Struggles With Scissors and Needs Help During Awkward Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony

President Donald Trump needed assistance from two men to cut the ribbon at an awkward White House ceremony on Monday, marking the inauguration of a new granite helipad on the South Lawn.

The event, intended to showcase the completion of the Marine One facility, instead became a flashpoint in the escalating battle between the Trump administration and major news outlets over press access.

To recall, the ceremony took place just days after Trump announced on Friday that he was banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, citing what he described as biased reporting against his administration.

The move prompted the three organisations to file a First Amendment lawsuit on Monday, seeking immediate restoration of their journalists' credentials.

Donald Trump Ribbon Cutting Marred by Audio Chaos

The president's remarks could not be heard during the ceremony, as the sound of Marine One's engine drowned out his voice. With no national television cameras present, several major networks had declined to provide pool coverage in solidarity with the banned outlets, there were no professional boom microphones to capture what Trump said.

Footage from the event shows Trump holding a large pair of gold scissors, pausing momentarily before two men stepped in to help him sever the red, white and blue ribbon. Attendees clapped around him on the South Lawn as the helicopter's rotors blasted behind the podium.

The White House issued a statement defending the access changes, saying: 'Access changes are nothing new. What is new, however, is the sudden claim that it becomes sacred only when the outlets are friendly to the Radical Left. The rule was never 'every outlet gets in.' It was always 'our side stays in.'

Donald Trump Media Ban Sparks Legal Challenge and Industry Backlash

The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, names Trump and several senior administration officials as defendants. It argues that the ban constitutes viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment, while also depriving the outlets of due process under the Fifth Amendment.

'This ban could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment nor a more blatant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles,' the 27-page filing states.

In a joint statement, CNN, MS NOW and Politico said they were acting 'to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes.' They added: 'Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists' credentials because it objected to our reporting.'

The legal challenge comes as NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox News have all suspended their participation in the presidential press pool, effectively cutting off the primary video source for White House events. The boycott deepens the isolation of an administration already at odds with mainstream newsrooms.

Trump has long complained about what he calls 'fake news' coverage. At a recent briefing, he said: 'If you look at CNN, it's fake news. If you look at MS NOW, I don't even know what MS NOW is, I guess it's the MSNBC. It's just biased news, and I think that these outlets have an obligation to be fair.'

The request for a temporary restraining order will go before a federal judge in Washington later this week, possibly leading to hearings and legal arguments from the administration as early as Wednesday. Nothing is confirmed yet about the outcome, so everything should be taken with a grain of salt.

The helipad ceremony was scheduled ahead of Trump's departure for New York, where he is set to address the United Nations General Assembly on Monday. The new facility marks the first operational use of the VH-92A helicopter for presidential transport from White House grounds.