ATLANTA — The president of the White House Correspondents’ Association has offered a scathing response to CNN, the network hosting the first presidential debate of the 2024 general election, deciding against permitting reporters traveling with President Joe Biden into the studio for his historic head-to-head matchup former President Donald Trump.

“WHCA has been informed that one print reporter will be permitted to enter the studio during a commercial break to briefly observe the setting,” WHCA President Kelly O’Donnell, of NBC News, wrote in a statement Thursday. “That is not sufficient in our view and diminishes a core principle of presidential coverage.