Trump faces packed diplomatic schedule at U.N. as White House press dispute heads to court

President Donald Trump is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, facing a packed diplomatic schedule as his administration also deals with a legal fight over White House press access.

(NBC)- President Donald Trump is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, facing a packed diplomatic schedule as his administration also deals with a legal fight over White House press access.

Trump is scheduled to address the General Assembly and hold a series of meetings with world leaders Tuesday, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodriguez. His agenda also includes meetings with Gulf leaders amid tensions involving Saudi Arabia and Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Nearly seven months into the war with Iran, Trump has also signaled the possibility of meeting with Iran’s president on the sidelines of the assembly while maintaining economic pressure on Tehran.

“They’re not going to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. “Let me just put it that way. And they’re not doing well.”

The president’s visit comes as CNN, MS NOW and Politico challenge his administration’s decision to revoke their journalists’ White House access. The three organizations filed a lawsuit Monday, alleging the restrictions violate their First Amendment rights and were imposed because of coverage Trump disliked. The White House has argued that access to the grounds is a privilege and rejected allegations that the move amounts to an attack on press freedom.

CNN had been scheduled to handle television pool coverage of Trump’s trip to the U.N. After the network was removed from its pool duties, the television pool said it would not provide a replacement and suspended network pool coverage of the president’s events.

The lawsuit has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly.