Pope Leo XIV affirms need for media to cover public figures when asked about Trump ban

Pope Leo XIV used a Friday flight to France to weigh in on the Trump administration's effort to bar CNN and other outlets from the White House, telling a CNN reporter that journalists were welcome aboard the papal plane. "I am very happy that here, you are all welcome," he said, adding that good media coverage matters and should apply "all the way around, for everyone." His comments came as CNN, MS NOW and Politico had just regained White House access Thursday after a judge's reprieve, though the standoff over Donald Trump's dislike of certain coverage continued; neither CNN nor MS NOW was allowed into Chinese leader Xi Jinping's state dinner arrival that day, and no major network carried live coverage, according to PBS NewsHour.

Leo has repeatedly championed press freedom since becoming pope, previously calling for imprisoned journalists' release and describing free speech and the press as a "precious gift." His stance echoes an earlier April dispute with Trump over the pope's opposition to the Iran war, which endeared him to Parisians who turned out for France's first official papal state visit in 18 years. One retiree, Thierry Marien, praised Leo for daring to criticize an American president despite having no obligation to.

Leo also toured UNESCO, the U.N. cultural agency the U.S. has withdrawn from, delivering remarks on using culture and education to promote peace, and apologized to reporters for a prior trip's canceled in-flight press conference following a plane breakdown in the Canary Islands.

Summarized by PolitiKool from PBS NewsHour’s reporting. Read the full story at PBS NewsHour →