On live television, CNN correspondent Kristen Holmes accused President Trump of misstating media coverage after he claimed CNN and MSNBC "refused to cover" Xi Jinping's White House arrival. A judge had temporarily blocked the administration's ban on CNN, MSNBC and Politico and ordered their access restored that morning. Holmes said CNN reporters tried to enter after 9 a.m. but were not admitted until about noon, when the formal welcome was ending, and that the lack of pool cameras was due to the ban, not outlet refusal.
Live On Air: CNN Reporter Kristen Holmes Rebukes Trump Over Claims He Was ‘Lied To’ About Media Coverage
President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan at the White House on Thursday. / Evan Vucci / REUTERS
CNN White House correspondent Kristen Holmes challenged President Donald Trump on air, accusing him of misstating how the media covered the White House arrival of Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Donald Trump attacks CNN and MS NOW on Truth Social. / Truth Social/Donald Trump
The confrontation followed a temporary court order that restored White House access on Thursday to CNN, MSNBC and Politico after the administration had barred those outlets. President Trump posted on Truth Social at 4:50 p.m. complaining that CNN and "MSDNC" had "refused to cover" the arrival—an assertion Holmes disputed live on The Lead with Jake Tapper.
Jake Tapper speaks to Kristen Holmes on CNN minutes after a Trump Truth Social post. / CNN
Holmes said the record showed a different timeline: CNN reporter Betsy Klein attempted to enter the White House grounds after 9 a.m. but remained outside without a press pass and was not granted access until around noon, by which time the formal welcome was concluding. Holmes said that the absence of pool cameras and reporters was the result of the administration's ban and the pool rotation, not a decision by the networks to decline coverage.
President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan watch a military demonstration from a balcony of the White House in Washington, D.C., September 24, 2026. / Jonathan Ernst / REUTERS
Holmes’ On-Air Rebuttal
On air, Holmes read the president’s post and called it "fundamentally not true," offering three possibilities: that someone in the administration or press office had misinformed the president, that the president misunderstood what happened, or that his post was not accurate. She directly stated, "We would have covered this event, had you not banned CNN and MSNBC and Politico."
Holmes emphasized that CNN had already sought re-entry under the court order and that the only reason there were no TV cameras from the pool was that those outlets had been excluded from pool rotation. She also noted that, although CNN was later allowed onto White House grounds, the network was not permitted to send a reporter or producer into the state dinner—only a TV camera and audio feed were allowed for that portion of coverage.
"So either somebody in President Trump's administration or the press office is lying to President Trump, or he does not have a fundamental understanding of what exactly happened today, or he himself is not telling the truth in this post," Holmes said.
The Daily Beast has contacted CNN and the White House for comment.
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