MS NOW Reporter Reveals Dramatic Moment She Was Barred by Trump

Reuters/MS Now Reporters were dramatically denied entry to the White House on Saturday, a day after President Donald Trump bizarrely—and abruptly—announced he was banning three media organizations.

MS NOW’s White House reporter, Akayla Gardner, said on the air that her badge flashed red when she showed up to work.

She says she was literally turned away at the door.

“I attempted to scan my badge, which we have to do to be able to get into the White House grounds; it did not work,” she said from a street near the White House.

“There was a red beeping light, and so the officer asked me to hand over my badge; he said that it was disabled.” Gardner said she was waved through two outside checkpoints before having to scan her pass to enter the White House, where she was denied entry.

She says she was with an MS NOW producer as the scene unfolded.

“I asked why I was not able to get inside,” she said, referring to a security agent.

“He said it was above him, and then our producer, after me, also scanned her badge.” The producer’s badge was still authorized, and she was allowed in, Gardner said.

Trump, 80, announced his ban in a Friday afternoon tirade on Truth Social, saying he was barring CNN, Politico and MS NOW from the White House for producing “fake news.” He did not cite any specific news story.

Trump confirmed in a subsequent Oval Office event that he was serious about the ban, claiming that it does not run afoul of the First Amendment.

He also threatened to extend the ban to more outlets, brazenly suggesting that a way to ensure access is to write positive stories about him.

Gardner said she turned up at the White House on Saturday because the “banned” journalists were not kicked out of the White House on Friday afternoon.

“Yesterday our journalists were able to stay here working on the White House grounds,” she said.

“This is the first action that we know of, of them actually denying us entry into the White House.” CNN’s Betsy Klein said on air that she was denied entry and that her White House badge was seized at the White House on Saturday morning, too.