// BBC WORLD NEWS — MONDO
Analysis: Trump escalates media fight after week of setbacks
President Donald Trump has infused his ongoing feud with the White House press with a new level of acrimony.
Journalists from three major media outlets - CNN, Politico and MS Now - were denied access and had their press credentials confiscated on Saturday morning as they attempted to enter the White House grounds for work.
As media watchdog organisations and the White House Correspondents Association cry foul, Trump appears set to press ahead with a sweeping effort to punish these outlets.
In his Truth Social post announcing his decision on Friday, he said he was "banning" the organisations because "of their constant 'reporting' of fake news". In remarks later that day, he complained that "something is wrong with a country that can allow people to write purposely negative stories".
"If they want to write them, that's fine," he continued. "I don't have to let them into the people's house", he said, referring to the White House.
Journalists denied White House access after Trump banned some media outlets
The president's frustration at the media, however, came after a week of setbacks in which major institutions handed him a series of losses across his agenda.
First, the Supreme Court blocked his plan to restrict mail-in voting ahead of the midterms. This prompted Trump to lash out at the court's justices including those he had appointed. "These are not the people I interviewed to serve on the United States Supreme Court," he said.
The Federal Reserve, the US central bank, then raised interest rates after Trump had spent months arguing they should be cut. This was followed by a judge ordering his administration to give 30 days' notice before making any changes to the Kennedy Center arts venue in Washington DC after the president warned it could be "ripped down".
These headlines, combined with approval ratings that recently sunk to record lows for his second term, suggest Trump is facing challenging political headwinds.