Trump inaugurates new White House helipad as networks skip coverage
Trump said the private project cost up to $6 million and was needed for newer Marine One helicopters that cannot safely land on the lawn.
- President Donald Trump unveiled a new granite helipad on the South Lawn on Monday using oversized gold scissors, but major television networks ABC, CBS, CNN and Fox News collectively boycotted the ceremony after CNN was barred from covering the event.
- Trump announced Friday he was banning CNN, MSNOW and Politico from White House coverage, seizing their reporters' press credentials the next morning; all three outlets sued Monday, alleging the White House violated the First Amendment by restricting coverage over past reporting.
- Despite the White House streaming the event on social media, Marine One's engine noise rendered Trump's remarks inaudible; Politico's Sophia Cai reported "nothing but static for 9 minutes" and NewsNation correspondent Hannah Brandt confirmed the helicopter drowned out the president's remarks.
- The White House assigned Hearst as secondary television crew and pro-Trump outlet Real America's Voice as the secondary crew for Trump's New York trip, while releasing a statement declaring media access a privilege rather than a right.
- With six weeks until Election Day and voters concerned about inflation, the media dispute has overshadowed Trump's rush to finish the helipad before Chinese President Xi Jinping's Wednesday state visit, when Trump hoped to impress the dignitary with the granite's "million-year life.
24 Articles
24 Articles
Trump inaugurates new White House helipad, but networks skip coverage
President Donald Trump showed off his new White House helicopter landing pad on Monday, attempting to brush aside a First Amendment firestorm even as major television networks kept their cameras away in protest of CNN being banned from the grounds. A light drizzle fell on the South Lawn as Trump used oversized gold scissors to cut a red, white and blue ribbon. He then exchanged handshakes with officials and with some members of a construction cr…
Trump inaugurates new White House helipad, but networks skip coverage during First Amendment fight - WXXV News 25
President Donald Trump steps off from Marine One upon his arrival at the Ellipse just outside of the White House, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)By WILL WEISSERT and SEUNG MIN KIM WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump showed off his new White House helicopter landing pad on Monday, attempting to brush aside a First Amendment...
NOW: TRUMP: “I GET THINGS DONE!” — NEW WHITE HOUSE HELIPORT COMPLETED
President Trump announced the completion of a new heliport at the White House, saying the project had been considered by previous administrations for 25 years but was never completed. Trump thanked Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet, local construction...
'Hilarious and depressing': Disbelief as Trump's ribbon-cutting drowns in static after ban
President Donald Trump's ribbon-cutting for the new White House helipad went out to the public with no usable audio, leaving journalists unable to hear a word he said.Trump cut the ribbon Monday afternoon on the South Lawn beside Marine One, the White House announced on X. The administration's own f...
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