The Trump White House's running war with CNN escalated over the weekend when it blocked the network from flying on Air Force One during the president's trip to a college football game in Tennessee — just days after a federal judge ordered the administration to restore the network's press credentials, according to CNN's own reporting.

The saga began the previous Friday, when the White House revoked "hard pass" credentials for CNN, MS NOW and Politico over what it characterized as unfavorable coverage. U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly ruled Thursday that the bans were likely unconstitutional, granting a 14-day temporary restraining order and ordering the outlets' access restored. Kelly wrote that the passes "were revoked without constitutionally adequate due process," according to NBC News.

A new front opens

Rather than fully standing down, the administration then blocked CNN specifically from the traveling press pool aboard Air Force One for Saturday's trip — impeding the network's rotating duty to provide pool video and reporting for the entire White House press corps, not just itself, per NBC News' follow-up report.

THE HARD PASSES WERE REVOKED WITHOUT CONSTITUTIONALLY ADEQUATE DUE PROCESS

Press freedom advocates and rival outlets said the Air Force One exclusion amounted to an end-run around the court order, since it achieved much the same practical effect — keeping a CNN correspondent away from the president — without technically violating Kelly's ruling on credentials. The Irish Times described it as the latest escalation in a monthslong pattern of the administration tightening access for outlets it views as hostile.

The White House has not detailed a legal justification for the Air Force One exclusion specifically, and it remains unclear whether CNN will challenge that move in court as it did the original credential revocation. The broader restraining order covering CNN, MS NOW and Politico's building access remains in effect for now, with a further court hearing expected before it expires.