Trump Just Exposed How Politico Took an 8 Million Dollar Biden Subscription

The Associated Press sued Trump over White House access last year and a federal court sided with him.

Now Trump banned three more outlets and pointed straight at Politico's secret government payout.

What Politico took from Joe Biden's administration to stay afloat will make your blood boil.

Trump's White House Ban Exposes Politico's 8 Million Dollar Biden Payout

Trump announced Friday he was banning CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House, effective immediately.

He didn't just call them fake news.

He called Politico corrupt.

Trump's own numbers say Politico pocketed $8 million from the federal government under Biden, an all-time record for a taxpayer-funded subscription meant to keep the outlet afloat.

"Seems like corruption to me!" Trump wrote.

Taxpayers bankrolled a newsroom that spent years attacking the guy footing the bill.

Trump also mocked MS NOW's rebrand from MSNBC, chalking up the name change to sinking ratings and a credibility problem of its own making.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, now the Republican governor of Arkansas and Trump's first-term press secretary, showed up at the Oval Office to back the president.

She pushed back on the idea that Trump is anti-press, insisting he's more available to reporters than any occupant of the office before him.

CNN blasted the move as unconstitutional retaliation and said it has no plans to stop covering the administration.

Politico said much the same, promising to defend its First Amendment rights.

Neither outlet mentioned the $8 million.

CNN still had the lead spot in the press pool set for Trump's trip to the United Nations this week.

Not anymore.

Courts Already Ruled Trump Can Ban Reporters from the White House Press Pool

This isn't Trump's first fight over who gets inside the building, and he's already won round one.

The Associated Press sued the administration last year after it lost access to the Oval Office and Air Force One over its refusal to call it the Gulf of America instead of the Gulf of Mexico.

A federal judge briefly sided with the AP.

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that ruling in a 2-1 decision.

Judges Gregory Katsas and Neomi Rao ruled the Oval Office and Air Force One simply aren't public forums the First Amendment protects.

The Justice Department argued credentialing "should remain at the discretion of the president and his aides."

That argument already won once, and it's the same one that applies to CNN, MS NOW, and Politico now.

Why Trump's CNN and Politico Media Ban Isn't Stopping There

Trump told reporters exactly why he's fed up, and it wasn't abstract.

He named one specific gripe: a Friday story on his administration's pharmaceutical deals that skipped over the part where drug prices actually fell.

That's not journalism – that's an agenda with a byline.

Democrats will call this an attack on the free press, right on schedule.

But the D.C. Circuit already settled that question, and Trump doesn't owe hostile reporters a seat at his table just because they showed up with a press badge.

"I think it's good to point it out whether it survives or doesn't," Trump said of the legal risk.

He's betting the fight itself is worth more to him than the outcome.

Trump has already hinted more outlets could be next.

The West Wing doesn't even have a press secretary to manage the fallout right now.

Karoline Leavitt left the job at the end of August, and nobody has stepped in to replace her.

Trump didn't wait around for a new spokesperson before pulling the trigger himself.

That should tell you exactly how personally he takes it.

Sources:

• Joseph A. Wulfsohn, "Trump announces White House ban against three media outlets," Fox News, September 18, 2026.
• Daily Caller Staff, "Trump Outright Bans 'Fake News' Media Outlets From The White House," The Daily Caller, September 18, 2026.
• Washington Examiner Staff, "'Dignitary Harm': DOJ Defends White House AP Ban At Appeals Court," Washington Examiner, April 2025.
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Order, Associated Press v. Budowich, No. 25-5109, 2025.
• The Thinking Conservative News Staff, "Trump Bans CNN, MS NOW, Politico From White House," The Thinking Conservative News, September 18, 2026.