The White House Correspondents Association says it is disturbed that no reporters from either The Associated Press, Bloomberg or Reuters were allowed on Air Force One to cover President Donald Trump's trip to the Middle East on Monday.

Any donation to this government is always done in full compliance with the law,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday.

Treating the aircraft as safe for the commander in chief with just a few modifications is "absurd," one former senior defense official said.

Reporters from major news services were barred from traveling aboard Air Force One for President Trump’s high-stakes trip through the Middle East — an unprecedented move that was slammed by the White House Correspondents’ Association.

Saudi Arabian F-15 fighter jets flanked Air Force One in an aerial escort Tuesday as President Donald Trump arrived in Riyadh, kicking off his first major overseas trip since returning to the White House.

Trump left with a host of press aboard Air Force One, but for the first time in decades, no one from the Associated Press, Reuters, or Bloomberg was with him.