A Reason analysis argues that President Trump can very likely exclude CNN from Air Force One, even after a court ordered the White House to restore CNN's press credentials. The key precedent is a 2025 D.C. Circuit decision in AP v. Budowich, which held that restricted presidential spaces such as the Oval Office, Air Force One, and Mar-a-Lago are not First Amendment forums opened for private speech. As a result, the White House retains discretion to decide which journalists are admitted, including on the basis of viewpoint.
The ruling draws a sharp contrast with more open press facilities. The Brady Briefing Room and similar spaces have long been opened to all bona fide Washington-based journalists holding hard passes, so excluding a reporter there based on viewpoint would violate the First Amendment under Sherrill v. Knight. But the same protections do not extend to the President's personal and highly controlled spaces, where the government's own speech interests dominate.
The article also notes that the recent court order requiring CNN's press passes to be reinstated was based on the Due Process Clause, not the First Amendment. That leaves the separate question of Air Force One access largely governed by the D.C. Circuit's reasoning, which treats the President's choice of traveling press as part of his discretionary control over the bully pulpit.