Nicolai Haugsted
Pope Leo delivers a subtle response after being asked about Trump’s latest media ban.
Pope Leo XIV did not need a lengthy sermon to make his position on press access clear.
A question about Donald Trump’s battle with several major US news organizations reached the American pope aboard his flight to France on Friday. His answer was short, carefully worded and conspicuously welcoming.
“I am very happy that here, you are all welcome,” Leo told the journalists travelling with him, including Vatican News.
The remark came after a CNN reporter asked about Trump’s attempt to exclude CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House.
Leo did not directly criticize Trump or characterize the administration’s actions. Still, he stressed the importance of strong media coverage and said it mattered “that we have it all the way around, for everyone.”
Trump had just lost a round in court
Timing gave Leo’s comments additional weight.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico had regained access to the White House the previous day after US District Judge Timothy Kelly temporarily blocked the administration’s ban.
Kelly ordered the White House to restore the organizations’ credentials for 14 days while their legal challenge continues, finding that they were likely to succeed on their claim that the administration denied them adequate due process.
The underlying dispute remains unresolved.
Trump’s administration has defended its ability to determine who receives access, while the three news organizations argue that they were targeted because of reporting the president dislikes.
Leo avoided stepping directly into that legal fight.
His answer instead focused on the broader principle that journalists should be able to cover public figures.
Free press has been a theme from the beginning
Friday’s response was hardly the first time Leo has spoken about journalism.
Days after becoming pope in May 2025, he addressed thousands of journalists who had travelled to Rome for the conclave and made press freedom one of the central themes of his remarks.
Leo called for imprisoned journalists around the world to be released and praised reporters who risk their lives while doing their jobs.
He urged governments and the international community to protect the “precious gift of free speech and of the press.”
The pope also connected access to information with individual freedom, arguing that informed people are better equipped to make their own choices.
His approach has not meant unlimited media access at the Vatican.
Private papal audiences are frequently closed to outside journalists, while independent media have faced restrictions on covering photo opportunities inside the pope’s private studio since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Leo’s comments on Friday therefore amounted to support for broad press coverage rather than a declaration that every presidential or papal meeting must be open to reporters.
A rather pointed welcome
Trump’s relationship with CNN has been particularly hostile.
His administration removed CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House access earlier this month, prompting the organizations to sue.
Trump has defended the restrictions by attacking the outlets as “fake news,” while the organizations contend that government officials cannot use access as punishment for unfavorable coverage.
Against that backdrop, Leo’s choice of words carried an obvious contrast.
A reporter from one of the organizations Trump tried to exclude asked the pope about press access.
Leo’s answer was that everybody on his plane was welcome.
