Trump Inaudible at White House Helipad Ribbon Cutting After TV Outlets Boycott Over Media Ban

The president spoke but could not be heard as he used golden scissors to cut the ribbon on the White House’s new Lockheed Martin-funded helipad

President Donald Trump cuts the ribbon at the White House’s new helipad on Sept. 21, 2026.Credit :

The White House/YouTube

NEED TO KNOW

• President Donald Trump spoke, but could not be heard as he used golden scissors to cut the ribbon on the White House’s new Lockheed Martin-funded helipad on Monday, Sept. 21
• The nation’s major TV news organizations announced a boycott of pool duties on Monday after Trump banned CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House last week
• Fox News, ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN — the networks that comprise the White House TV pool — said they would cease operations in the wake of the ban on their colleagues

President Donald Trump spoke but could not be heard as he used golden scissors to cut the ribbon on the White House’s new helipad on Monday, Sept. 21, after his press team was forced to rely on an in-house video feed.

Normally, TV networks rotate coverage duties as part of the White House reporting pool, sharing footage with news organizations across the country and the world.

But the nation’s major TV news organizations announced a boycott of pool duties on Monday after Trump banned CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House last week.

A nearly 10-minute live stream shared by the White House showed Trump exiting the building to a group of applauding administration officials and construction workers, speaking for roughly three minutes over the din of Marine One’s engines, and cutting a red, white and blue ribbon with an oversized pair of gold scissors.

President Donald Trump signs a piece of granite that will be part of the new helipad on the South Lawn of the White House on Aug. 19, 2026.

Alex Wong/Getty

The president then shook hands with some of the event’s participants before walking over to the awaiting helicopter, trailed by aides including chief of staff Susie Wiles and executive assistant Natalie Harp.

Later, as he flew to New York City, Trump thanked weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin and CEO Jim Taiclet for “the newly built, and very beautiful, Heliport!” on Truth Social.

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“Our Government has been thinking about doing this for 25 years, but was never able to get it done. I get things done!” the president wrote.

The White House press pool print reporter attending the event, The Washington Blade’s Joe Reberkenny, wrote in a pool report that the president could not be heard in-person, either. 

The White House did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s inquiry about the president’s remarks even as the press office defended Trump’s ban.

“The First Amendment protects their right to publish; it does not entitle them to a hard pass, briefing room seat, or place in the press pool,” the White House said in a Monday press release titled “White House Access Is a Privilege — Not a Right,” accusing the trio of news organizations of “years of false reporting.”

CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a lawsuit on Monday alleging the ban of their journalists from the White House grounds amounted to a “blatantly unconstitutional” violation of the First Amendment.

Meanwhile, Fox News, ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN — the networks that comprise the White House TV pool — said they would cease operations in the wake of the ban on their colleagues.

“The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government,” the networks said in a joint statement. “No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting.”

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office on Sept. 18, 2026.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty

“Effective today, the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the President,” Fox News Washington bureau chief Bryan Boughton, the current chair of the TV pool, wrote in an email on Monday to subscribers, according to Politico.

“This follows the White House’s position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties. There will be no replacement pool put in place,” Boughton added.