Trump's attempt to ban critical news outlets from the White House has backfired, with major TV networks including Fox News now refusing to cover him in solidarity — bad news for Trump's ability to control his message, and a win for press freedom advocates.

• Trump banned CNN, MSNBC, and Politico from the White House on Friday, and their press passes no longer work.
• The other networks — Fox, CBS, ABC, and NBC — agreed over the weekend not to fill CNN's empty slot in the TV pool that shares audio and video of the president.
• The result is that Trump's public events now air with video but no audio, including his meeting with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
• The banned outlets are suing on First Amendment grounds, arguing the government cannot pull press access just because it dislikes the coverage — a case legal experts expect Trump to lose.
• The White House also has no press secretary since Karoline Leavitt left, so there is no one to negotiate a fix, and Trump's team is looking to fill the slot with friendly influencers like Jake Paul instead.

Outlook: With the midterms just 43 days away and reports that Trump's political committee is sitting on its promised midterm money rather than spending it, expect the press-access fight to head to the courts and become a campaign issue.