The Associated Press is still referring to the Gulf of Mexico by that name — despite President Trump’s decree that it now be called the Gulf of America — and now the White House said it will indefinitely bar the news organization from access to the Oval Office and Air Force One.
In a post on X Friday, White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich wrote, “The Associated Press continues to ignore the lawful geographic name change of the Gulf of America. This decision is not just divisive, but it also exposes the Associated Press’ commitment to misinformation. 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. 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 added that AP journalists and photographers will retain their credentials to the White House complex.
The AP did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest development. It has formally objected to the White House’s move to limit its access based on the Gulf of Mexico/Gulf of America issue, and other media organizations also have slammed the Trump administration’s decision. The not-for-profit news org has noted that it serves a global audience — and that the body of water has been called the Gulf of Mexico for more than 400 years.
“It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism,” AP executive editor Julie Pace said in a statement Tuesday, after the White House blocked a reporter from an event in the Oval Office because of the nomenclature controversy. “Limiting our access to the Oval Office based on the content of AP’s speech not only severely impedes the public’s access to independent news, it plainly violates the First Amendment.”
Pace, in a letter sent Wednesday to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, wrote that “the AP is prepared to vigorously defend its constitutional rights and protest the infringement on the public’s right to independent news coverage of their government and elected officials.”
Like the AP, other news outlets are adhering to calling it the Gulf of Mexico, including the New York Times, Bloomberg News, Reuters, the New Yorker and the Los Angeles Times. A spokesperson for the New York Times told Niemen Lab that “it is an international body of water that has been known as the Gulf of Mexico for several hundred years. We will continue to follow common usage in updating our style guidance, like we have done in the past with other areas of the world. We’ll continue to cover the news of the President’s executive order fairly and in service of our audiences, and will refer to ‘Gulf of America’ when needed for reader context.”
Trump, on his first day in office for a second term as U.S. president, signed an executive order that among other things directed the Secretary of the Interior to adopt the name “Gulf of America” to replace the long-held name of the body of water “extending to the seaward boundary with Mexico and Cuba.”
Trump’s executive order also said Alaska’s Denali mountain would be revert to its previous name, Mount McKinley; the AP said it would recognize that change, because the “area lies solely in the United States and as president, Trump has the authority to change federal geographical names within the country.”
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Publish date : 2025-02-14 05:21:00
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