President Donald Trump on Monday defended his decision to ban three news networks from the White House, characterizing his actions as a crackdown on "fake news" and not an attack on the free press.

Trump previously announced he would ban Politico, CNN, and MSNOW from the White House, citing what he considered to be lopsided coverage of his administration.

"The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish. It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America," he posted on Truth Social. "It is corrupt, purposeful, pervasive, fully coordinated, and totally out of control. It is a threat to our National Security, and must be stopped, NOW!"

Trump's comments came as the networks sued the administration to restore their access, calling it an attack on the First Amendment.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent for Just the News. Follow him on X.