'You should not be here': Trump tells CNN at UN as standoff with media outlets persists
President Donald Trump confronted a CNN journalist at the United Nations, reiterating his stance against the network following a White House ban. The incident occurs amidst a legal battle regarding the constitutionality of restricting media access.
Why it matters
The standoff highlights ongoing tensions between the executive branch and major news organizations regarding press freedom and the definition of legitimate journalism.
On a day of high-stakes diplomacy on the global stage, U.S. President Donald Trump began his United Nations visit by telling a prominent U.S. journalist, “You should not be here.”
“It's an honour to be here,” Mr. Trump said as he entered the UN doors on Tuesday (September 22, 2026) ahead of his speech to the General Assembly and faced Kaitlan Collins of CNN , a frequent target of his ire.
“I'm surprised that CNN is here covering me. You should not be here covering me. You said you weren't going to cover me.”
As Ms Collins noted later on air, CNN said nothing like that. The administration had banned CNN from White House grounds days earlier — along with MS NOW and Politico — and removed the network from pool duty. But CNN had been admitted into the UN as regularly credentialed media.
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