WH correspondents slam CNN for excluding outside press from Biden-Trump debate

The White House Correspondents’ Association blasted CNN on Thursday in a last-ditch attempt to expand access to the evening’s first presidential debate of 2024 to reporters outside the network.

The debate between President Biden and former President Donald Trump was brokered by the campaigns and will be different from past showdowns in its lack of an audience and the muting of microphones when a speaker’s time is up.

The move means TV viewers may entirely miss off-mic remarks and that coverage will be limited to what CNN cameras show at the time — with CNN moderators Dana Bash and Jake Tapper expected to be the only journalists in the room if there is other related significant news to tell.