President Donald Trump on Friday claimed to have “banned” three of the country’s most prominent news outlets from the White House, taking a page from authoritarian leaders by attempting to limit coverage of his administration by legitimate journalists as his and his party’s popularity continue to crumble as the midterm elections approach.

Writing on Truth Social, the president said he would “effective immediately” be “banning Fake News CNN, MSNOW … and Politico … from the White House as a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS.”

“Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America. Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow,” he added.

All of the outlets mentioned by the president are legitimate and reputable news organizations with long histories of aggressive and independent reporting under both Republican and Democratic administrations.

It’s unclear what, if anything, specifically led to the president’s outburst, but Trump has had a years-long feud with CNN dating back to his first campaign for the presidency and his first term in the White House.

The president does not actually possess the authority to arbitrarily ban entire outlets from the White House based on the content those outlets publish.

A 1977 District of Columbia Circuit Court case, Sherill v. Knight, states that “bona fide journalists” cannot be denied access to White House press facilities except in cases when a journalist seeking a press credential to enter the White House “presents a potential source of physical danger to the President and/or his immediate family so serious as to justify his exclusion.”

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