The decision to block several news organisations from the

briefing was decried by several White House journalists as unprecedented in the modern era.

"This is an unacceptable development by the Trump White House," CNN said in a statement. "Apparently this is how they retaliate when you report facts they don't like. We'll keep reporting regardless."

In a strong editorial, The New York Times said the move was "an unmistakable insult to democratic ideals".

CNN Anchor Jake Tapper said this is not acceptable.

"In fact, it s petulant...This White House doesn t seem to value a free press. There s a word for this. The word is un-American," he said.

This is an undemocratic path that the administration is travelling, The Washington Post Executive Editor Martin Baron said.

There is nothing to be gained from the White House restricting the public s access to information. We are currently evaluating what our response will be if this sort of thing happens again," he said.

In a statement, the National Press Club president Jeffrey Ballou said it is deeply disturbing and completely unacceptable that the White House is actively running a campaign against a constitutionally enshrined free and independent press.

"The action harks back to the darkest chapters of US history and reeks of undemocratic, un-American and unconstitutional censorship," he said.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)