AP Indefinitely Barred From White House Over Use Of ‘Gulf Of Mexico’

The Trump White House has barred the Associated Press from entering the Oval Office and boarding Air Force One, pointing to the outlet’s continued use of “Gulf of Mexico” instead of the administration’s newly proclaimed “Gulf of America.”

President Trump issued an executive order last month to institute the name change in government agencies and among federal contractors, but the AP and other non-government institutions have resisted the change.

The AP claims that since the order has not been recognized internationally, it would continue calling the body of water the Gulf of Mexico, and is preparing a lawsuit challenging the White House’s decision, according to CNN.

The White House has only barred AP reporters from “pooled” events at both the Oval Office and Air Force One, with the outlet’s photographers still permitted along with retaining their white house credentials, according to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich.

“While their right to irresponsible and dishonest reporting is protected by the First Amendment, it does not ensure their privilege of unfettered access to limited spaces, like the Oval Office and Air Force One,” Budowich said in a statement on X.

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“Going forward, that space will now be opened up to the many thousands of reporters who have been barred from covering these intimate areas of the administration,” Budowich said.

Budowich reiterated the administration’s disapproval of the AP’s editorial stance, characterizing the outlet’s refusal to adopt the new name for the gulf as “not just divisive, but it also exposes the Associated Press’ commitment to misinformation.” Another official indicated that the spaces previously occupied by AP correspondents would now be made available to a rotation of other outlets.

The White House Correspondents Association called the move “a textbook violation of not only the First Amendment, but the president’s own executive order on freedom of speech and ending federal censorship.”