President Donald Trump opened Saturday with a fresh assault on the press, extending a standoff that had intensified a day earlier when CNN was blocked from traveling with him aboard Air Force One. The network was supposed to join his weekend trip to Tennessee.

On Truth Social, Trump questioned why news organizations he dislikes should have White House access. “Why should perpetrators of FAKE NEWS, like CNN and MSDNC, be allowed access to a very sacred place, the White House?” he wrote.

He followed with a familiar complaint about scrutiny of his presidency: “Despite my big Election Win, almost 100% of ‘TRUMP’ coverage is negative, and has been for years!”

Speaking briefly with reporters later Saturday morning, Trump denied that he wanted only friendly outlets included in the press pool. He told MS NOW’s Akayla Gardner, “I want real news, not fake news — like you.”

Trump also declared, “I love an open, free press. I don’t like the fake press.” The claim came as his administration was restricting access for outlets whose coverage he opposed.

The president also attacked coverage involving Rep. Byron Donalds, who is running for Florida governor with Trump’s endorsement. News organizations reported that Donalds removed references to Trump from his campaign website, while Donalds said changes had been underway for about two months and were intended to emphasize his platform.

Trump wrote that courts should “stop this totally dishonest form of Politics,” and branded the media “corrupt and dishonest.” His complaint targeted reporting about changes that Donalds said were intended to highlight his campaign platform.

This latest offensive followed a week of efforts to pressure news organizations over coverage of his administration, sagging approval rating and policies. With just over five weeks remaining before the midterm elections, the conflict is disrupting the traditional role of the White House press corps at a pivotal political moment.

Republicans, meanwhile, have privately said they are preparing for defeat on Election Day.

Trump announced last week that MS NOW, CNN and Politico would be banned, and journalists from those outlets were denied access to White House grounds Saturday. The three organizations then sued Trump and several administration officials, challenging the effort to shut them out.

The television network pool, which includes Fox News, suspended its coverage of Trump after the bans. The White House answered by launching “Trump TV,” an online stream featuring what the administration called its “greatest hits.”

A federal judge on Thursday ordered the White House to restore the outlets’ access temporarily and immediately. Trump nevertheless barred CNN from Air Force One for his trip to the Tennessee versus Texas college football game, preventing the network from carrying out its television pool duties.

Free speech advocates and lawmakers from both parties have widely criticized the ban. Ron Fournier, a retired veteran White House correspondent for The Associated Press, said the dispute reaches beyond the ability of news organizations to cover the White House.

“If President Trump is able to get away with punishing the media because they’re being critical of a president, he can punish every American for being critical of a president,” Fournier told MS NOW. “It is un-American. It is dangerous. It’s a threat to all of us.”

The confrontation fits Trump’s routine use of crass personal insults against female journalists. After The Associated Press refused last year to adopt the term “Gulf of America,” he removed the outlet from the press pool, and the AP still faces limits on its White House access.

Trump has repeatedly pushed legal boundaries during his second term, and the law remains unsettled over whether a president can exclude particular outlets from parts of the White House. The AP’s lawsuit over its ban remains active, while a federal appeals court has allowed some aspects of that restriction to stand for now.