The major networks resumed their collective television coverage of President Donald Trump on Friday, after a standoff that saw TV cameras go dark at the White House during the visit of China’s top leader.

CBS served as the television pool for Xi Jinping’s arrival at the White House at 10:30 a.m. Eastern, when Trump and the first lady greeted the Chinese leader and his wife.

A CBS camera crew also broadcast live footage of the two leaders drinking tea in the Red Room. At one point, Trump turned to the camera and said: “We appreciate the fair coverage. It’s been very fair. We appreciate it.”

CNN operated as the network pool camera at the National Archives, a museum that holds original copies of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, where Trump and Xi visited around lunchtime.

On Monday, the networks had suspended the TV pool, which provides video footage for daily presidential events, after Trump abruptly barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House. Those outlets regained access Thursday after an order from a federal judge.

But the five networks that share pool duties — ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC — continued to stand down. They were seeking a written commitment from White House staff that CNN’s cameras would be allowed back into the pool rotation.

CNN received an email from the White House that included logistical instructions for Friday’s shoot at the National Archives, which the networks took as a de facto confirmation that the network would be allowed to proceed, according to three people briefed on internal discussions.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Without a TV pool in place, the start of Xi’s pomp-filled visit to the White House had not been carried live on major American networks. Trump, in a social media post, described the visit as “Actually made for Television” and wrote that the networks had “refused” to cover it. The president did not mention that his administration had barred some outlets from the White House grounds.

A note to TV pool subscribers Friday stressed that the networks could modify their plans depending on how the day played out.

“The plan is to return to covering the president in a normal capacity with a full crew,” the note said, according to a copy obtained by The New York Times. “This arrangement can be assessed throughout the day.”

Kristen Holmes, a White House correspondent for CNN, said on the air Friday that pool coverage would restart. “We’ll actually see the president and President Xi on our TV screens,” she said.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Michael M. Grynbaum/Kenny Holston
c. 2026 The New York Times Company