Trump's ban backfires, China's Xi visits & more | Erin Burnett Outfront this week

Trump silenced by his own hand. Today, Trump  held a ribbon cutting event to show off his. new helellipad. A helellipad he's bragged about  again and again talking about the grass around. it and you know he walks people out there. He's  really proud of this. He was thrilled to show it. off except for the fact that nobody could hear  him when the big ribbon cutting happened because. he banned CNN, Politico, and MS Now from the  White House. The other networks all stood for. the First Amendment and refused to bail him out by  providing the pool coverage of presidential events.

that CNN was slated to deliver today. So, just  watch what happened today when there weren't all. those cameras and all the things that behind the  scenes networks like CNN do. Here's what anchors. from one of the most Trumpfriendly networks,  Newsmax, got stuck with as it all went down. Okay. So, there is no microphone because there's  no microphone because the pool cameras aren't.

there. So, maybe uh Tim, this is one example  of it backfiring just a little bit. Obviously, the ramifications are right here. Can't hear what  the president's saying. Well, that's stating the. reality. And Trump kept talking and talking.  No one could hear him because there was no pool. coverage. He was silenced and it came as the three  banned news organizations filed a lawsuit against. Trump, writing, quote, "This ban could not be a  more direct assault on the First Amendment, nor a. more blatant violation of our most fundamental  constitutional principles." Trump responding.

with an enraged 330word screed against the press  and the judge assigned to the case. The judge, by the way, appointed by Trump. You can still see  it uh scrolling next to me. It was a stream of. consciousness. There were uh the trademark Trump  random all capitalizations throughout because this. is a president that truthfully feeds off being  covered by the very press he says he loathes. Cutting his mic is akin to cutting the air he  breathes. I mean just remember what he said in.

the past when his supporters couldn't hear him.  I'm up here seething. I'm seething. I'm working. my ass off with this stupid mic. Whoever the hell  bought this mic system, don't the son of a [ __ ]. to put it in. And now Trump is without a TV crew  from any of the major networks as he head to New. York to speak on the world stage. The only  organization traveling with Trump actually. is the conservative online outlet called Real  America's Voice. And all of this for what? Well,

sources tell CNN that Trump's crow's personal  aid, Natalie Harp, was showing Trump clips of. media coverage just before he fired off the post  in which he banned CNN, Politico, and MS Now and. said there would be more to come. The source said  a graphic from Politico may have been the straw. that broke the camel's back. But he was there with  Natalie Harp, who was by his side. Apparently, there was no one else there to push back.  Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wilds, was not.

in the building at the time. But the ban is not  going to change the facts. And those facts are. that right now, Trump is facing major headwinds  in his presidency. His approval ratings are the. lowest levels that he has ever seen. Voters are  unhappy with the war. They're unhappy with the. economy. They're frustrated with Trump's focus on  his own pet projects, like Kennedy Center, where. a judge has refused to allow Trump to put his  name back on the building. something which angers.

Trump and consumes his time. Here he is looking at  Kennedy's center plans for a possible demolishment. on Air Force One in the midst of a nation at war.  A focus which is at best bizarre given the war and. the fact that prices have surged as a result for  Americans. Trump's war with Iran is now 7 months. in. It is a war that more and more Republicans are  publicly turning against. Here's a post from Iowa. Congresswoman Ashley Henson. She is now running  for the state senate seat and she writes Ians.

are being squeezed and shouldn't have to foot the  bill at the pump or the checkout line for the war. in Iran. I mean that is direct and this is someone  who easily won her district two years ago. Now the. Cook report has shifted her Senate race from lean  Republican to tossup. And it's not just Henson's. lead that's taking a toll. Trump's approval  rating is now at 32% according to the latest. from Reuters, which may be why the administration  is struggling to find anything to tout. Our Daniel.

Dale did a a really incredible thing. He went to  the achievements tab on the official White House. app, okay, to see what they have there. Here's  what they have. The gas price that they list is. $2.91 a gallon. That's from 7 months ago. It's  now $450. The inflation rate also 7 months ago. Inflation now at 3.4 up a whole percentage point.  And GDP growth, the most recent available quarter. was nearly three points off where it is right  now. It's pretty incredible. And by the way,

when I say 7 months old on gas prices, 7 months  old on inflation, remember Trump's war is 7 months. old. Yeah, look, I've been speaking a lot with  of course all of my sources at the White House, allies of the president, Aaron. And part of the  reason, in addition to what our colleagues Caitlyn. and Kevin had already reported about Natalie Harp  showing the president some materials, particularly. one from Politico that he didn't like, I was also  told the president was watching some of CNN on. Friday. And in a moment uh when CNN was actually  walking through some of the president's bad poll.

numbers, something that of course the president  doesn't like. We know that he uh is t is told. about these poll numbers often by some of his  adviserss, but that was also something my source. said kind of set him off. I will also say too uh  just, you know, speaking with another uh one of my. uh sources uh basically said that it's so notable  and and you can't understate the fact that Susie. Wilds, the White House chief of staff, was not  in the West Wing on Friday when the president. announced this ban, nor did the president have a  press secretary in place. I'd remind people that.

Caroline Levid was actually someone, you know,  one of the people who surrounded the president. who would talk him off this idea of wanting to bar  the media from the White House in the past. This. is actually isn't the first time the president has  thought about wanting to ban news organizations. that he views as unfavorable from the White House  just to have his close aids, the people who are. in his ear telling him it's not a good idea. He  didn't have that on Friday uh surrounding him and. that's why I think partly led to this decision. I  also I talked to some people today around that he.

helipad, you know, the unveiling of the new  helellipad where the president and his team. had covered this uh and you couldn't hear any of  the audio. I mean, people recognize that that was. embarrassing. People close to the president  recognize that that was embarrassing today. So all of that I think contributing to uh what  we're going to potentially see play out this. week because even as the president is here  at the UN General Assembly, I was actually. Aaron supposed to be the one pooling with the  president while he goes to all these meetings in. that building behind me uh tomorrow. He is going  to be frustrated that there's not a camera there.

capturing a lot of this. We are seeing the most  remarkable show of solidarity that I have seen. the media mount during Trump's return to office.  Erin, we started out with Trump's inauguration. talking about capitulation by universities and law  firms and media companies. We talked about those. tech CEOs standing there in Washington on the  inauguration day. Capitulation has been the story, but not anymore. We're seeing the opposite. We are  seeing CNN's rivals. We're seeing photographers, networks all stand up in in a united front against  this media ban. So, here's what's happened in.

the past couple of hours. Virtually all the still  photographers who cover Trump on a regular basis, they have worked with their photo desks and their  bosses and determined that they will not publish. images of Trump's events until the very end of  the day today. Sources tell me this was a quote. universal response by the photographers.  Trump loves some of these photographers, but the Washington Post is calling it quote a  collective effort with photographers in other. newsrooms to withhold photographs of Trump's  appearances until midnight Eastern time. So,

there's a noticeable lack of photos of the  president during his trip to New York today. This is probably going to get under his skin,  just like the lack of television coverage is. going to get under his skin. Meanwhile, a judge in  Washington has scheduled a hearing for Wednesday. The president is already attacking that judge who  is a Trump appointee, perhaps betraying that Trump. knows he's probably going to lose. And Aaron, that  same Trump appointed judge sided with CNN in the. Jim Aosta press case back in 2018. So, what's old  is new again. But the difference tonight is that.

the entire American press corps seems united in a  way that I have not seen in a long time. We begin. with the breaking news. Trump's Justice Department  at any moment expected to file its response to the. lawsuit by CNN, Politico, and MS Now after the  president banned the three news organizations. from the White House. A ban that Trump apparently  thinks should also include the United Nations. It's an honor to be here. I'm surprised that CNN  is here covering me. The United Nations allowed.

us in. Sir, you should not be here covering  me. You said you weren't going to cover me. You shouldn't be covering me. CNN's coverage of  Trump, of course, is going to continue regardless. of any restrictions that he imposes. Restrictions  that are impacting Trump because he's on the world. stage and yet there is no media pool covering his  every move. The New York Times now announcing it's. still not publishing or distributing images  captured uh uh by the White House pool, which is a blow to Trump because he covets the  coverage whether it's on TV or on the front page.

of newspapers and magazines. I mean, gosh, going  back 20 years, those would be all over his office. And now he's been cut off, which may be why he  decided to launch his own station. And it is. called Trump TV. And you're not being punked. This  is real. It's called Trump TV. 24 hours of Trump. reairing what the White House calls major remarks  and must-sea highlights. So after 24 hours, well about 1,000 people are watching at the last  check. Drudge posted the headline, "White House.

humiliated as Trump TV flops in ratings disaster."  And maybe there's a reason for that, the actual. content. Trump TV has so far aired Trump's  inauguration, his new helellipad dedication, which by the way, because there was no pool and  no audio, right? his speech to the UN. It's a. weird sort of form of state TV. I mean, right now  with everything going on, people want to rewatch. his inauguration. It's kind of reminiscent of what  you would find in North Korea. That's called KCTV,

and it's dedicated every airring to pretty  much every public appearance by their leader, whether it's in an amusement park or a military  facility. And they repeatedly air Kim Jong-un's. remarks again and again. It sounds familiar. And  Trump's former press secretary is now speaking. out in a new interview. She cannot believe news  outlets aren't airing every speech by Trump. I've. gotten on the phone with the leadership of all  those stations and said, "Why are you not taking.

the president's remarks live?" Like, just let  your audience decide how they feel about this. for. the president of the United States to address the  nation and for networks to take make the editorial. decision themselves that they will not cover it  for their audience. That's scary stuff. Well, of course, the administration doesn't get to  decide what news organizations air. That's not the. way it's ever worked. And it's not a given that  a Trump speech gets coverage. That again, that.

sort of a situation would be state television. And  when it comes to Trump, his justification for the. ban is that quote, "Fake news is a threat to our  national security." And then he goes on to say, "When they make statements about war, when  they make false statements, false militias, and they don't have sources, but they say they do,  it's very dangerous for our country, and I won't. stand for it." Of course, he's talking about the  Iran war there. So when it comes to that, right, we're about 7 months into a war where we have  reported facts all the way along because the facts.

on this war are important for the American public  and American lawmakers to know when it decides, right? This country decides, does this country  back this war? Does this country want to be at. war? They need information. And the administration  has reported repeatedly repeatedly tried to hide. this information. Just for example, they've under  reportported how many American assets have been. hit or destroyed by Iran. At one point they under  count underounted the number of Americans killed. while serving in Trump's Iran war. To not even  be honest about the number of people killed in.

the war. It was back in July that the Pentagon  removed the last four Americans killed during. Trump's war from the operation epic fury tally  listing them in a new category called overseas. operations which could be anything anywhere.  And Americans do deserve to know the truth. about the war. And reporting that is not a  threat to America's national security. It's. required to preserve it. Ryan Goodman, our legal  analyst, and Brian Karum, White House columnist, who had his press pass suspended during Trump's  first term after a heated exchange with proTrump.

radio host Sebastian Gora. A judge ultimately  ordered the Trump administration to reinstate your. pass, ruling that the suspension inflicted quote  irreparable harm on his First Amendment rights, which Ryan may be where we are right now. Um,  Trump has pointed, and I mentioned this at the. top of the show, to national security as the  reason for for the ban. And this is obviously. an argument that he's been making to justify  various things. The ballroom, you know, went. from a ballroom to national security. The arch  went from national security to a drone storage and.

sniper facility. U, so he uses national security  when he wants to use national security. Do you. think the DOJ will actually try to make that  argument in court? They might. Um it's in some. ways the best way they can make it some kind of  an argument because they don't have very many but. they're going to run up against many a problem  with it. First it's a shifting rationale. It's. not the rational that he gave on Friday. It's  the rational he gave on Monday morning. That's. a problem for them because the whole analysis is  whether or not these standards are clear or vague. It would be vague if it's shifting. He also only  gives that statement after the complaint had been.

made public. He gave it on Monday morning  after the MS now had already released the. complaint. So that the courts look at that very  unfavorably because it's a statement that's made. to influence the litigation potentially. And then  the last one is that Supreme the Chief Justice of. the US Supreme Court recently said when it came  to the president's own motives that the federal. court should not exhibit a naive from which the  ordinary citizens are free. Ordinary citizens. know this is a pretext. It was a similar argument  for the removal of a member of the Federal Reserve.

Board. It was all everybody knew it was a  pretext. And the Supreme Court has already. said that now in 2026. They said in 2019 with  another case with the first Trump administration, but he's basically saying the courts will  scrutinize this kind of rationale and see it. for what it is. So Brian, your case is cited all  throughout the lawsuit. So you know, you're you're. everywhere here. Be been here, done that, got  the t-shirt. So the White House um in your case, I guess they gave you notice and a chance to  appeal before the suspension took effect. Um,

are you a actually what they did? I was I was at  the White House that day. No one said anything to. me. And when I left, I got notice I had been  suspended. And that was part of the argument. against them. the fact that they did not follow  due process which is I think going to be germanine. to this particular case as well because he simply  decided to wave a magic wand and get rid of. uh this time I and I think this is where he's made  his biggest mistake in the first administration.

he went after individual reporters first Jim  Aosta and then myself and I had to fight him. three times in court now he's going after entire  organizations and for once since the the pool is. standing up for each other. So, it's good to see.  I think maybe he's taken it a step too far. So, Ryan, let me just play Secretary of State Marco  Rubio weighing in on this. He defended it. Okay, here he is. We're not closing CNN. There aren't  a bunch of police officers or soldiers kicking.

down the doors of MSNBC or MS Now, whatever it's  called, and and arresting people and unplugging. it from the grid. They're just not allowed to  work from the workspace at the White House. So, does that argument hold up? And is that  perhaps part of the reason that Melania Trump. allowed the pool or not the pool, but credentialed  CNN and Politico? Um, it might be why, but it. won't hold up. It it's in fact runs directly  against what the DC Court of Appeals has said.

before. The DC Court of Appeals has said once  you set up press facilities in the White House, is that explicit and that on on point? You cannot  then deny those facilities to individual members. of the press based on their content of their  coverage. It's just a straight first amendment. violation. And then what Brian said is well  there's also fifth amendment due process. You. can't just restrict it without giving the people  notice and without saying what the reason is. and then without giving them an opportunity to  respond. So it's just going to fail miserably. And the DC Court of Appeals has said this before  and the very same judge had says it has said it.

before. Same judge. We are standing by for  a judge to issue a ruling in Trump's White. House media ban. a ruling that could come at any  moment. Now, the judge in the case, who appeared. skeptical of Trump's ban, says he will respond as  soon as he can. The attorney for CNN, Ted Bros, calling Trump the quote lead witness. That is  because Trump has repeatedly said he banned CNN, MS Now, and Politico because he  didn't like their coverage. I mean, here is what the president said on the day the ban  was announced. With all of the victories I've had,

everything's been a victory. It's all been a  victory. And I won the election like nobody's. ever seen anything like it. I get no, they never  write a good story. I won't get a good story out. of these people. Now, when announcing the ban  in a post that day, Trump also said, quote, "Mia outlet shouldn't be able to constantly  write or report fiction and lies when they're. covering the president of the United States."  Now, of course, the reality is that for Trump,

fiction and lies refers to any story that  he doesn't like. And this is a ban that is. more likely to be seen in Beijing than Washington.  China's Xi Jinping does have absolute control over. the media. He has the power to silence dissenting  voices and that's exactly what Trump is doing on. the same day that he meets with Xi where he  is rolling out the red carpet for the Chinese. president. Something that hasn't been done on US  soil. Uh we haven't been here in nearly a decade,

but you won't find pictures and video today of  today's pomp and circumstance. It's hard to find. it because the biggest news organizations in  this country are still refusing to cover the. president because of the ban. Sort of like if a  tree falls in the forest, did anybody hear it? The Justice Department claims repeatedly that the  ban was put into place though to protect national. security. So, I want to go through this because in  their court filing, they do point to a number of. reports by CNN. Reports that they claim threaten  national security or spread lies. So, let's.

just go through them and take the first CNN story  that's mentioned in the Justice Department filing. uh called Inside Plans to Rebuild the Top Secret  Bunker Beneath the White House East Wing. Okay, so they cite this as a story threatening national  security. That story was published on January. 19th. The administration took no issue with it at  the time. In fact, Trump went on to brag about the. complex and its underground military operations,  saying this to reporters on Air Force One.

The military is building a massive complex under  the ballroom and that's under construction and. we're doing very well. So, you heard what  he said. The military is building a massive. complex under the ballroom. Uh, but somehow  CNN's story inside plans to rebuild the top. secret bunker beneath the White House east  wing is a national security threat. Well, then there's this. The Justice Department  mentions this reporting. They say nearly. 80% of interceptors for a key missile defense  system depleted. sources say. At the time,

Defense Secretary Pete Hegsath responded with a  post showing that graphic with that news, writing, "The Chiron is false. CNN, you should be ashamed.  We don't hate the fake news media enough." Well, of course, what he said was false. I mean,  the inspector general for Hex's own defense. department revealed, "Operation Epic Fury has  resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls.". Incredible reporting detail this in many  outlets. And to state the obvious onto one, if the story was false, then it didn't hurt  national security and it wouldn't be cited in.

court filing alleging that it did hurt national  security. So, this is a very circular reasoning. that does not add up. The administration then  also took issue with CNN's reporting on the US. strike that hit an Iranian school, killing more  than 120 school children, according to Iranian. officials. Now, sources told CNN that the US  accidentally struck the school, likely because. of outdated information about a nearby naval  base. Now, that reporting is not a national. security threat. That reporting is essential. And  in the 28 days since that attack, the Pentagon's.

internal investigation has been stymied. It has  gone nowhere. And Trump has spent the past 8. months passing the buck on this. In my opinion,  based on what I've seen, that was done by Iran. Somebody said it was our missile. Well, maybe  it wasn't our missile. I don't think it was us. Certainly the United States that we all live in  would want to get to the bottom of this and own. up to it if it was America's fault. Trump wanted  big coverage of his meeting with Shei, right? The.

red carpet, you know, meeting him at the at the  actual plane, which is a virtually unprecedented, right, to go to that extra step. But instead,  you are sitting in our bureau in Washington. DC and we have no pictures of Trump and and  she he's getting none of it tonight. Yeah, we would have been there. I mean, these are the  moments that President Trump wants on camera. He. wants the pomp and circumstance. He wants to show  off what he is doing for President Xi. And I will. be clear, President Xi also wants those images  scrolled across all of American news outlets,

every TV station, and now they are not getting  it. And he's facing the consequences of his own. actions. And Republicans I have talked to have  really expressed somewhat of an annoyance over. the fact that it's not just this issue in which  he seems to be making his own political headwinds, creating his own problem for himself and the  party, the economy, the war in Iran. And again, they believe that he is the one who created a lot  of these problems that Republicans are now facing.

And one thing to keep in mind, it is a critical  time for President Trump to be able to be on TV, to talking to reporters, to get out there on  that pool feed because we are just months away, weeks away really, from those midterm elections at  a time in which he should be selling his agenda to. the American people. Recent CNN polling says that  33% of people, only 33% approve of the job he is. doing as president. And now he still has taken  away a vehicle that he had to get that messaging. and his agenda out. And Stephanie, the judge  started the hearing today by referencing the.

Brian Kum decision, which is in 2019. Brian was on  the show last night talking about it. You were the. one charged as press secretary at the time with  suspending Brian's press pass. A judge overruled. it. Right now, I know you learned a lesson there.  But but here Trump is take two, if even that. Well, I mean, when I was press secretary, the  entire time I was tasked actually with getting. the entire press corps, everyone out of the uh  white off the White House grounds. And in fact,

they told me where we're going to use the excuse  that we were needing more office space. Um, so he's been wanting to do this for quite a while  and I don't think that by the time he's done, I think he will get that end goal whether he  cares about the courts or not. They want to. force the issue into courts. they want to be able  to seize a an expanded view of executive authority. and that's been an explicit part of his second  term project. I also think it's important that. he wants to insulate himself from consequences  too. Like this is a president who uh his strategy.

for the midterms was basically to win them before  they started by drawing new districts. I mean he. has basically tried to to respond to his growing  unpopularity by insulating himself from the ways. our democratic system would uh push would expose  them. He's he's trying to shut those out. I just. think that if he takes it to the Supreme Court  and they rightfully side with the media, I think. he could get to a point where he's like, "No,  let's kick him out and anybody who kicks him out, I'll just give you a pardon." And I do want to  just follow up really quickly with something.

that well Se said too, but um speaking of Russia  and North Korea and China, I heard him on two. different occasions in a bilat with China and in a  bilat with North Korea. the North Korea I actually. physically fought those guards to get the press  into that room and he told them on both occasions. um the dictators that is that the press aren't  they animals they're animals they're crazy you. have the right idea so he absolutely wants to  have a presidency more on the side of dictators.

denied CNN denied access moments ago to cover the  guest arrivals of President Trump's state dinner. for Chinese President Xi Jinping blocked after a  judge shot down Trump's ban to keep CNN, Politico, and MS Now out of the White House grounds. Now,  for the past 24 hours, Trump has pulled out all of. the stops for the communist leader of China, but  we have no video or images of the events because. Trump's White House still refuses to confirm  that CNN will be allowed to return in full to.

its normally scheduled reporting duties, meaning  the TV pool that usually handles live coverage. of Trump's events is still in a holding pattern.  Now, it's unclear if when CNN can return to its. normally scheduled pool assignment, but this lack  of coverage is getting to Trump. Just a short time. ago, he fired off this message attacking CNN and  MS Now, saying that the two television networks. quote refused to cover one of the biggest and most  beautiful events to take place in many years, the.

arrival at the White House of the highly respected  President of China, Xi Jinping, and his beautiful. wife, Madame Ping. The event was magnificent,  actually made for television, but because they're. fake news and because they knew how good it would  be, they didn't want credit to be given to Trump, they refused to be there. Well, when the president  of the United States posts something like that. about us, it's important to be clear on what  really happened because CNN did not refuse to. cover the event. We, like MS Now and Politico,  were denied access to the White House grounds.

And it's not the first time that Trump and his  team have misled about this ban. This morning, after a judge ordered Trump to restore CNN's  access to the White House, it took five tries. over nearly 5 hours before our reporter Betsy  Klene was actually granted access. In fact, it was not until about 12:30 p.m., 11 hours after  the judge's ruling, that Betsy was allowed back. in. Even then, the administration told the court  something false. They said her badge was activated.

at 9:07 a.m. Just to be very clear here, Betsy  was turned away three times after 9:07 a.m. even. though the administration claimed that to a  court of law. And even as Betsy stood outside. the White House this morning, Trump did allow  Chinese state media to cover him, even saying. to President Xi Jinping today that the Chinese  had the friendliest press corps because they. actually asked she if they can ask a question.  Now, of course, they are friendly because they.

are state controlled media. For example, I mean,  here's a picture of she in a Chinese newsroom. The. reporters surrounding him are clapping for him.  And after all, if a reporter steps out of line, they could face severe punishment from something  as simple to losing their credentials to actually. being detained. And Beijing state media today  seized on Trump carpet welcome for she reporting. on the rare personal airport welcome from Trump.  The B1 bomber fly over the 21 gun cannon salute. images that were great for shei in public.  And that seems to be what Trump wants from.

his press coverage as well. Just listen to what  Trump's former press secretary Stephanie Gisham. told me just last night. I heard him on two  different occasions in a bilat with China and. in a bilat with North Korea. He told them on both  occasions um the dictators that is that the press, aren't they animals? They're animals.  They're crazy. You have the right idea. Well, Kristen Holmes is out front live outside  the White House. And there's a reason for where.

you're standing, Kristen. That is because the  breaking news that we led the program with this. denial of access to cover uh the state dinner.  You were there. You were going to cover it. You. were denied. Can you explain what just happened?  Yeah. And I do want to be clear because this is. different than a pool event. This is what they  call a pre-credential media event, which is all. the media that wants to attend. They submit their  names to the White House uh and then they wait for. confirmation. In the past, we have never had an  issue with confirmation. We submitted our names.

last night. Uh no response from the White House.  It was becoming pretty clear throughout the day. that all the other outlets had received a response  saying that uh they were pre-credential, but we. had not. Uh moments before the press was called to  gather together to go watch this greeting between. uh President Xi and President Trump, uh we did  receive an email from the White House asking. for who would be attending. Uh we responded that  like the other TV pool or network pool uh that we.

would only be sending editorial. That is what the  agreement has been. And that's why there's no TV. pool camera, but the networks have been in these  events, just not with the actual video pool feed. We submitted my name, uh, and Kit Mahar's name.  She is a producer here at the White House. Uh, we didn't hear back after that. Um, we walked up  with our credentials and we were told to talk to. the White House press office. We were told that  we did not have access. We asked specifically, uh, why not? They said your invitation was  only for a television camera and audio. Again,

no editorial presence, just a camera and audio,  which certainly seems like a reaction to President. Trump saying that he wanted the CNN coverage  of this event. Uh, again though, what had been. agreed upon was this editorial stance of sending  in uh just a producer correspondent, no camera, and they clearly were not okay with it. Right. the  made for TV event that that that they they wanted,

right, without the editorial. What we're hearing  behind you, Kristen, is that the the pomp and. circumstance of of what's happening that you're  not able to cover that we're hearing? That's Yes. And what's interesting about it, too, is that  I know you can't see it, but right behind me, actually, you kind of can in the corner here, you  can see uh that the press pool is really far back. and up on these risers. Uh so, you know, it would  have we would have been out there, but very high. up. uh and away from this location. So clearly  they just wanted the CNN camera so that they would.

have the pictures on the 24-hour news network.  Uh but no ability to have anybody potentially ask. questions or but again I don't even know how  close we would have been at this point. They. certainly didn't want Trump to see a CNN reporter  uh or editorial presence there as well. Well, that's significant what you're saying, right? That  they wanted the camera, but that they didn't want. him to have to see you, Kristen, right? I mean,  you were you you were going to be going there, you. and Kit. All right, Kristen, thank you very much.  And of course, this story moving very quickly.

because that just happened, Kristine's denial. So,  if if there's a development here, Kristen's going. to come right back up the second she can. In the  meantime, I want to go out front now to preeminent. constitutional scholar and Harvard law professor  emeritus Lawrence Tribe. and professor. So, are reporters finally allowed back on White House  grounds 11 hours after they were supposed to be? But just now, you heard Kristen explaining how  she was denied access to the state dinner and.

the media coverage of it. What do you think's  happening here? What do you think is happening. here? Well, what's happening is that the president  of the United States is playing cat and mouse with. the American people. It it really is an outrage.  He he he says that he's going to comply with. judicial orders, but he defied them this morning.  And even though hours, many hours after the court.

ruled that access cannot be selectively denied to  CNN and CS uh MSN and Politico. Um it was being. denied and in the morning when PresidentQi arrived  at the White House, none of you were able to cover. it. Just as you're not able in any meaningful  way to cover the state dinner, this president.

does not recognize that he is subject to the law.  I was trying to think of parallels in history, but there really are none. George III didn't have  this kind of power. He tried to control coverage, but he was responsible to a parliament. This  Congress basically does because of the MAGA. element does what the president wants. Even even  King Louis I 14th didn't go this far. He said moa.

I am the state. But even the state is subject  to the law. Whereas Trump specifically said I. am the law. He used the word code. The code that  controls him. He said I am the code. We can't have. this in this country. That's dictatorship. CNN  is for now back at the White House. It remains. to be seen how long that holds. The legal battle  continues tonight. The temporary restraining order.

in place. Well, doing our jobs includes showing  you much more of what Trump was doing today. Much. of his day consumed by the Chinese President Xi  Jinping. And it comes as we are just learning that. the Pentagon quietly added 37 more American troops  to the wounded list amid Trump's war with Iran, which includes 29 sailors and eight Marines. Now,  those injuries are not listed under Operation Epic. Fury, which is what the Trump administration calls  the Iran War. Instead, they're grouped together in.

that new category, the vague category, overseas  operations, separating them from the Iran War. They were, of course, injured in the conflict.  did is unclear exactly how or how seriously. The. Pentagon sharing none of that. And the Pentagon  did this quietly. We only know this because the. Washington Post noticed that suddenly the number  had gone up. 37 American troops injured is a. massive spike in casualties. Not a small thing to  quietly hope nobody sees when it gets put on the.

website in a bizarre vague category, but it comes  on the same day President Trump wrapped up his red. carpet welcome of Chinese President Xi Jinping,  which we were able to see for the first time today. because CNN was allowed back into the press pool,  which covers the president. She is the very same. leader whose country has been helping Iran target  US troops. Sources telling CNN that Chinese group. troops provided tyrron with satellite imagery  and intelligence. Crucial information that helped. Iran target ships in the straight of Hormuz and  strike a US base in Jordan. That attack in July.

killed three American service members. Army first  lieutenant Tyler James Fen, Army Private Isabella. Gonzalez, and Army Sergeant Angel Rampers. And  yet over the past three days, Trump of course. had a lot of fancy meetings and dinners with his  communist counterpart. first at Joint Base Andrews. where he literally had a team roll out a red  carpet that was followed by an arrival ceremony at. the White House and a military flyover, personal  tour of Trump's prize new helipad, and last night.

an opulent state dinner, a spectacle that CNN  reports Trump himself spent months planning. It wasn't until just before she left, when  Trump was forced to allow the press back in, that we the public actually though finally got to  see the two together because the pool was back. And at that time, CNN asked if Trump and she  talked about Iran. Did you discuss the war with. Iran? Did he offer you? Do you think there will  be progress made? I think we're going to do great.

Now, China has become the only major buyer  of Iranian oil despite US sanctions. And that. money is what Iran is using to to fight the  war. Chinese groups are providing Iran with. intelligence that it used to kill Americans. China  is reportedly providing Iran with the tools to. produce ballistic missiles, missiles, which Thrron  is using against the United States. China has. intercepted a shipment of the most sensitive parts  of the highest tech fighter in the US arsenal, the F-35, according to Bloomberg. But Trump  has not acknowledged any of this over the past.

months. Not once. Not once. But he has actually  criticized China. Not for anything I just said, though. He's actually criticized them  because of something about himself. The People's Republic of China carried  out what is believed to be the largest. compromise of election data in history,  resulting in China's illicit acquisition. of 220 million US voter files. The Chinese  government wanted US president to lose the.

next election. And the reason they wanted me to  lose is because they knew I was wise to them. But even that even that something that he  cares deeply about turned into something. uh over-the-top compliments over the past  few days and on social media in China. uh they were thrilled. These are the comments that  the strict sensors in China let go viral. Here's.

one. America's welcoming ceremony went above and  beyond. Another this is exactly how a major global. power should be treated. Another Trump really  put his heart into it this time. Elena T is. out front at the White House. And Elena, what  are you learning from your sources there about. uh this visit? Because so much of this, right, for  for you and and our incredible White House team, you weren't able to be president the way you  ordinarily would because of the ban. Uh that's. right. It is actually something that uh we're  told and this is some new reporting from my.

colleagues Adam can, Kristen Holmes, and I uh that  irked people here at the White House and also the. Chinese. is now one thing we had been told I had  spoken with one Trump adviser Aaron who told me. that uh this media ban had actually come at a  really inopportune time because both the United. States and the Trump administration as well as the  Chinese and uh the press traveling with shei were. expecting this robust coverage and they didn't  get that at least not on Wednesday and Thursday. because of the ban on these outlets and that  preventing the pool from doing its job or at least.

uh the different networks determining that they  wouldn't have that coverage of the president. uh and you could see the president kind of  complained about that yesterday on social. media. Um but it's something I think even  more so that he had privately indicated to. his advisers that he didn't like. And one  thing as well that I was told was that the. Chinese embassy here in Washington had actually  called some of the networks up ahead of time. uh before she had even come to the White House  to ask about how this ban would impact coverage.

So just just gives you a sense of how much they  wanted this to be a symbolic moment of how they. wanted this these images of both of these leaders  standing side by side of all of the pageantry that. accompanied this state visit for she there's a lot  I want to ask you about tonight Congressman but I. I want to start with the breaking news because 37  more Americans we understand wounded a a massive. number to drop all of a sudden and it quietly was  dropped by the Pentagon Washington Post noticed it.

uh they're not even listing them under the Iran  war formally. So, we don't know much about it. We don't know when they were injured. We don't  know how badly they were injured. We don't know. in what way they were injured, right? We don't  know anything. And in fact, if somebody wasn't. just constantly checking back on that website,  we wouldn't know at all. This might be, you know, one of the single biggest days of of of a number  going up. Do you any idea what happened here, who who these troops are, how they were wounded,  or when? Well, I'm beyond angry about this,

Aaron. You know, Donald Trump is a five-time  draft dodger. He has spent years maligning. uh and disparaging our fallen heroes, our  veterans, our military families, uh undercutting. their service and their sacrifice. And just  when I think, you know, he can't go lower, they won't even tell us, they won't even have the  respect for our fallen heroes and our military. families that they actually tell us how many have  been killed and how many have been wounded. That.

number keeps on changing. You know, they tell us  18. Then the other week, briefers came to Capitol. Hill and they said 22. So, I've never thought  that I've had to be in a position of actually. introducing a bill to require the president of the  United States to actually disclose the number of. service members that have died and have fallen  and have become wounded in a conflict. But here. we are. That's a bill that I just introduced. And  we need those numbers because that's what America. deserves. Yeah. Um, it's not a good thing that it  we have to have have time spent on something like.

that. That should just be something certainly  at at the very least to honor the incredible. sacrifice of those individuals uh that everyone  should know. Um, you wrote a letter, Congressman, to the White House. You urged President Trump to  challenge President Xi over his support to Iran in. the war. Okay. Did that happen? No, of course it  didn't happen. The the feeling that I've had the. last two days is one of embarrassment. I How  can you look at, you know, soldiers on their. knees rolling out a red carpet, Donald Trump, um,  you know, clamoring for attention from she, uh,

you know, looking at the flyovers, showing off his  new helellipad? How could you look at all of that. and feel anything other than embarrassment? He's  what my kids would actually call a pickme, right? He just wants attention. He wants affirmation  from other people. Meanwhile, President Xi of. China continues to play chess while Donald Trump  plays tic-tac-toe. He's not even playing checkers, right? Uh and and we're being left behind.  Americans are being left behind. Our country is.

being left behind. We deserve better, which is why  we're going to retake the House in November. We're. going to hopefully retake the Senate and we're  going to start pushing back on the corruption. and the incompetency of this administration uh in  building uh the country that Americans deserve.