President Donald Trump appeared visibly caught off guard this week when he spotted CNN chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins covering his appearance at the United Nations in New York, telling her directly, “You should not be here covering me.” The exchange came despite Trump’s earlier move to bar CNN, along with MS NOW and Politico, from White House press briefings.
The moment unfolded during a press gaggle on the sidelines of UN General Assembly events, where Collins was present alongside other international correspondents. Trump’s surprise stemmed from the fact that the United Nations, not the White House, controls credentialing for reporters covering events on UN grounds, a system that operates independently of the West Wing’s press office.
A Ban That Doesn’t Extend to UN Turf
Trump’s decision to restrict CNN’s access to the White House was part of a broader effort earlier this year to limit which outlets receive briefing room credentials and pool access. As NarwhalTV previously reported, the president said he intended to keep those three outlets out of the West Wing, accusing them of biased coverage.
But that authority does not extend beyond federal property under the White House’s direct control. The United Nations headquarters, while hosting the sitting US president for high-profile diplomatic events, issues its own media credentials through the UN Department of Global Communications. Reporters accredited by the UN can cover events involving heads of state, including the US president, regardless of separate access restrictions imposed by individual national governments.
That distinction meant Collins, who has covered the Trump administration extensively for CNN, was able to attend and ask questions during the president’s UN appearance despite the standing White House ban.
The Exchange
According to pool reports and video circulated widely after the encounter, Trump paused upon noticing Collins among the assembled press, remarking that she should not be present given the network’s banned status at the White House. Collins responded by noting her UN credential was separate from White House press access, a point that appeared to catch Trump momentarily off guard before he continued taking questions from the assembled reporters.
CNN has not issued an extensive statement beyond confirming that Collins was properly credentialed through the UN press office, consistent with standard practice for major international summits and General Assembly sessions.
“Access to cover the United Nations is governed by the UN’s own accreditation rules, not by individual member states,” a UN spokesperson said, according to reporters present at the briefing, declining to comment further on the specific exchange.
Broader Tensions Over Press Access
The episode highlights ongoing friction between the Trump administration and several major news organizations over press access throughout 2026. The White House ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico marked one of the more significant moves to restrict specific outlets from routine briefings, prompting criticism from press freedom advocates who argue that selective access undermines the traditional role of the White House press corps as a body that covers the presidency regardless of outlet.
Press freedom organizations, including the White House Correspondents’ Association, have previously pushed back against efforts to exclude specific outlets, arguing that credentialing decisions should not hinge on a news organization’s editorial stance toward the administration in power.
The UN encounter is not the first time reporters from banned outlets have found alternative avenues to cover Trump. International summits, multilateral meetings, and events hosted by third parties routinely operate under separate credentialing systems, meaning outlets excluded from the White House press pool can still gain access when the president appears at venues they do not control.
What Happens Next
It remains unclear whether the incident will prompt any formal response from the White House regarding coverage at international venues. Trump has not indicated plans to lobby the UN or other international bodies to adopt similar restrictions on CNN or other outlets he has criticized.
For now, the exchange serves as a reminder that presidential press access is governed by a patchwork of institutions rather than a single unified system. While the West Wing can control who enters its briefing room, it holds no authority over accreditation processes at the United Nations, foreign capitals, or other international gatherings the president attends.
Collins is expected to continue covering the administration’s foreign policy engagements for CNN, including any further appearances Trump makes on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session this week.
