Trump Questions Why CNN Is Covering Him at UN Before Kaitlan Collins Fires Back: 'The United Nations Allowed Us In'

President Donald Trump's attempt to bar CNN from the White House contrasted with the network's continued access to the United Nations on Tuesday morning in New York.

Arriving at UN Headquarters for the 81st General Assembly, Trump saw CNN correspondent Kaitlan Collins among the waiting press pack and questioned why she was there.

Trump Confronts Collins Outside the General Assembly

As Trump entered the UN building on 22 September 2026, he was met by CNN correspondent Kaitlan Collins among the waiting press pack. Collins asked him about new CNN polling showing nearly two-thirds of Americans do not believe the United States is winning the war with Iran, and when the conflict would end.

Trump brushed the question aside. 'So, it's an honour to be here,' he told the assembled press, before adding: 'I'm surprised that CNN is here covering me. You shouldn't be here. You should not be here covering me. You said you weren't going to cover me.

You shouldn't be covering me.' He went on, 'But I will tell you it's an honour to be at the United Nations and we're making a lot of progress. Our country is doing really, really well,' before moving on.

Collins did not respond to Trump in the moment, but later that day, speaking on CNN, she said the network had 'never said we were not going to cover the president', noting that she and other reporters covering the UN session were accredited by the United Nations, not the White House.

Her comments highlighted the distinction between White House access and separate UN media accreditation.

The Ban That Sparked the Standoff

The confrontation traces back to 18 September 2026, when Trump announced on Truth Social that, effective immediately, he was banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House grounds over their 'reporting FAKE NEWS.'

He argued that media outlets should not be able to 'constantly write or report FICTION and LIES' about him, his administration or the country, and warned that further outlets could follow.

The following day, the policy was enforced on the ground. Journalists from MS NOW, CNN and Politico were turned away from the White House and had their press credentials confiscated, including CNN's Betsy Klein and Politico's Cheyenne Haslett.

CNN did not stay quiet. 'CNN stands fully behind our White House team and their fair and accurate reporting,' the network said in a statement on X. 'We have a right under the U.S. Constitution to do that reporting without hindrance or interference from the government.

Should the ban which President Trump threatened go ahead, it would be an illegal assault on that fundamental and constitutionally-protected right.'

Politico's Jonathan Greenberger said his organisation would 'vigorously defend' its First Amendment rights, while press freedom groups swiftly condemned the decision.

Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said that if Trump intended to expel the outlets specifically from the White House press pool, such an action would be 'doubly unconstitutional', arguing that the press pool functions as a public forum and that journalists cannot be excluded based on viewpoint.

Lawsuit, Boycotts and a Mayor Caught in the Middle

On Monday, 21 September, CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a joint lawsuit over the ban, which Trump continued to defend publicly as 'an assault on the FAKE NEWS.' Several other news outlets declined to replace CNN's crew in the White House television pool in solidarity, disrupting coverage of Trump's engagements in both Washington and New York.

The row surfaced that same day at Gracie Mansion, where Trump appeared alongside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Asked whether he had raised the press ban with Trump, Mamdani said: 'I told the president that we're going to have all of the members of the press here on the lawn, and that is something that I believe in.'

The fallout continued into Trump's General Assembly address itself the next morning. The White House ban did not prevent CNN from covering Trump at the United Nations, where the network and other affected outlets were able to use UN-issued media passes.

The distinction was significant because the White House restriction applied to access to the White House grounds, while UN media accreditation is administered separately by the United Nations. CNN, MS NOW and Politico therefore continued covering Trump's visit to the General Assembly despite being barred from the White House.