First Lady Melania Trump has undercut Donald Trump’s controversial ban against CNN by allowing the news organization to cover her at this week’s United Nations General Assembly.
CNN reporter Betsy Klein, who made headlines this weekend after being denied access to the White House, has been accredited to cover the first lady on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly this week—despite her husband insisting the outlet is “fake news.”
The move comes days after Trump barred CNN, MS NOW and POLITICO from the White House, simply because they did not provide favorable enough coverage of him.
The 80-year-old doubled down in a wild rant on Monday afternoon, bemoaning the fact that “virtually every story about me, or anything having to do with me, is negative, wrong and, in many cases, DANGEROUS for our Country! No matter how GREAT my Achievements, they trivialize and demean.”
“Fake News people and publications that only write negatively, and who violate our National Security by writing false and defamatory stories with unknown “sources,” shouldn’t be allowed access to the most important Office anywhere in the World,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“It is called the Oval Office, and it should be treated with Decorum, Respect, and Dignity, not defiled by Third Rate Clowns, who purposefully distort, twist, and degrade with everything they write or publish.”
Trump’s angry post came after the organizations filed a lawsuit on Monday morning accusing the president of violating their First Amendment and due-process rights.
Then, in an extraordinary escalation, America’s five major TV networks—ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and Fox News—suspended their coverage as part of the White House TV pool, leaving the president without an assigned crew to follow him at this week’s UN General Assembly, where he will meet global leaders ahead of a speech on Tuesday.
Melania Trump will also be in New York for the annual gathering, meeting representatives and first spouses from 57 member nations to review children’s access to education technology, promote digital safety, and outline upcoming international events.
She will also visit the New York Stock Exchange to ring the opening bell and launch IMPERIA, a new network and forum designed to connect influential female CEOs and C-suite executives.
But the first lady was not the only member of the administration to seemingly undercut Trump’s ban.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio courted the media on Sunday night at a press reception at the Kimberly Hotel in Manhattan to kick off the high-level week of the United Nations General Assembly.
Hosted by Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson, the guest list was a who’s who of Washington and New York media: POLITICO’s Dasha Burns, CNN’s Kylie Atwood, former MS NOW host Andrea Mitchell, New York Times correspondents Tyler Pager and Zolan Kanno-Youngs, as well as ABC’s Jonathan Karl, NBC’s Kristen Welker and Fox News stars Martha MacCallum, Harris Faulkner and Brian Kilmeade.
According to POLITICO, Rubio delivered off-the-cuff remarks and mingled with guests at the midtown Manhattan event, alongside other Trump officials including US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz and Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau.
On Monday morning, the secretary of state also marked the start of UN General Assembly week by ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange alongside State Department officials—with CNN as the TV pooler.
