President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump greeted Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Wednesday evening in a rare welcome, as major media outlets did not cover the moment live. The meeting comes amid Trump's ban of three media outlets, CNN, Politico and MSNOW, from the White House. The move sparked immediate backlash online and on air and has since prompted a legal hearing Wednesday regarding the new policy.
The White House live-streamed the diplomatic greeting on its social media platforms, including YouTube and X. Other conservative-leaning outlets like Real America's Voice and One America News, or OANN, also streamed or posted the event online. CNN, Fox News, and MSNOW did not air the moment live on Wednesday.
CNN's Jake Tapper addressed the moment at the top of the 6 p.m. ET broadcast, saying in part, "We would normally be showing you images, video from this pivotal meeting, but we cannot. President Trump's ban on media is in limbo after a federal judge ended a hearing earlier today without a ruling." As Trump's greeting of Xi was underway, MSNOW began its broadcast with the legal hearing on the media ban, and the Trump-appointed judge appeared skeptical of the administration's argument.
Fox News' Bret Baier mentioned that the greeting took place and then pivoted to an upcoming interview with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The networks' decision not to air the rare moment live comes amid the backdrop of diplomatic tensions between the two countries regarding artificial intelligence, trade and other policies. Last week, Trump announced that he was banning the outlets "effective immediately" from the White House for what he notoriously labels "fake news" reporting.
The president has an infamously tainted relationship with the media, routinely calling out outlets during rallies and on social media, and has a long-running pattern of confronting female journalists. Trump has also filed numerous lawsuits against media outlets including ABC News, CBS News and The New York Times. In his post to Truth Social last Friday, Trump said: "I am proud to announce that, effective immediately, I am banning Fake News CNN, MSNOW (who recently changed their name from MSNBC due to lack of viewership and credibility!), and Politico (The recipients of an illegal and ridiculous $8 Million Dollar subscription, an All Time Record, directly from the United States Government, under Crooked Joe Biden, in order to keep them 'alive.' Seems like corruption to me!), from the White House as a result of their constant 'reporting' FAKE NEWS!" Trump continued by saying outlets should not be allowed to publish "fiction and lies" while covering the president, the administration or the country.
He also warned that there will be "Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow." The White House Correspondents' Association called out the president's move on X last week, saying in part that it "violates the First Amendment." "The implications extend beyond these organizations: a standard used to exclude one news outlet because of its coverage could be applied to any outlet in the future," the post added. This is a developing story that will be updated with additional information. Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story.
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