Natalie Harp Reportedly Showed Trump Critical News Coverage Before Media Ban

BySara Dorn,Forbes Staff. Sara Dorn is a Forbes news reporter who covers politics. Sep 21, 2026, 01:27pm EDT1/2

Topline

President Donald Trump made the decision to revoke White House press credentials for CNN, MS NOW and Politico shortly after controversial aide Natalie Harp showed him clips of negative coverage, multiple outlets reported—following allegations that Harp has significant influence over the flow-of-information to the president.

Key Facts

• Harp showed Trump a graphic from Politico thatangered him before he implemented the ban on Friday, CNN reported, citing an anonymous source, while The Wall Street Journal also reported Harp showed him clips of MS NOW anchors criticizing his administration.

• Harp, who maintains a near-constant physical presence around Trump, reportedly has undue influence over his news diet and is often the final eyes on his social media posts—raising concerns among others in Trump’s inner circle about her role in shaping Trump’s perception of current events and the content he posts.

• The White House TV pool—major networks that share coverage of the president—said it won’t cover President Donald Trump on Monday in solidarity with CNN, MS NOW and Politico, which sued the Trump administration Monday after they were suddenly banned from the White House over the weekend.

• The TV pool—which includes CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN and Fox—takes turns leading White House coverage and distributes footage to all other pool outlets, meaning major networks will not cover Trump’s events on Monday, which include meetings with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

• CNN, Politico and MS NOW said Monday they would sue the Trump administration for revoking their reporters’ credentials—prompting Trump to double down on the ban, insisting it is not “an assault on the Free Press.”

• The three outlets issued a statement that said they are filing the lawsuit “to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes.”

Contra

Trump responded to the lawsuit on Truth Social by claiming “the White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish” and instead seeks to ban “FAKE NEWS,” calling it “corrupt, purposeful, pervasive, fully coordinated, and totally out of control.”

Crucial Quote

The outlets said in the lawsuit “the ban retaliates against protected newsgathering and speech in violation of the First Amendment” and is intended “to deter other journalists and news organizations from newsgathering and speech with which the President disagrees.”

What To Watch For

The outlets are seeking a temporary restraining order, writing, “these irreparable harms should not be tolerated for a day or longer.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2026/09/21/natalie-harp-reportedly-showed-trump-critical-news-coverage-before-media-ban/

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Key Background

Trump has not explained what prompted the ban, which he initially announced Friday on Truth Social, and elaborated on later in the day, telling reporters, “it’s really just cumulative stories over the last two years” and reporting he considers “one-sided.” The following morning, reporters from the three outlets were denied entry to the White House and their credentials were disabled. The White House revoked what are known as the “hard passes” of journalists at the three outlets, which are given to media who reside in the Washington area, are accredited by a federal government press gallery and approved by a Secret Service background check. CNN, MS NOW and Politico noted in their lawsuit that Secret Service officials must “be guided solely by the principle” of whether the applicant is a physical danger to the president or president’s family in determining whether to clear applicants. The lawsuit also accuses the administration of failing to follow due process in revoking the credentials and the guidelines for denying a hard pass application, including a written notice explaining the denial. The hard passes give journalists immediate and unrestricted access to press areas in the White House, allowing them to cover impromptu events.

Tangent

The ban on the three outlets is Trump’s latest move to restrict access for outlets that behind coverage he deems unfavorable. The White House also banned the Associated Press from the Oval office, Air Force One and other small events after it refused to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America when Trump signed an executive order renaming it. The Associated Press sued to overturn the ban, and an appeals court ruled that access to certain restricted areas, such as the Oval Office and Air Force One, is at the White House’s discretion. A final ruling in the case has not yet been made. The White House also attempted to ban former CNN reporter Jim Acosta from the White House in 2018, but a court overturned the ban, ruling that the White House did not follow proper procedure to instate it.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2026/09/21/natalie-harp-reportedly-showed-trump-critical-news-coverage-before-media-ban/