The Associated Press accused the White House of blocking its reporter from covering an Oval Office event on Tuesday over its editorial policy about how to refer to the newly renamed Gulf of America.
AP executive editor Julie Pace said the White House barred one of its reporters from covering an executive order signing Tuesday after the news service refused to update its stylebook to reflect President Donald Trump’s order to change the Gulf of Mexico’s name to the Gulf of America.
“It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism,” Pace said in a statement. “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.”
The AP said last month after Trump ordered the name change that it would maintain its usage of the Gulf of Mexico, owing to the 400-year history behind the name and its usage by other countries. The publication, however, said it would switch its usage of Mount Denali to Mount McKinley, in line with the Trump administration’s edict.
A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The White House Correspondents' Association called the move “unacceptable” in a statement on Tuesday.
“The White House cannot dictate how news organizations report the news, nor should it penalize working journalists because it is unhappy with their editors' decisions,” WHCA president and Politico reporter Eugene Daniels said in the statement. “The WHCHA stands with The Associated Press and calls on the administration to immediately change course.
The Trump White House’s decision reflects the administration’s seemingly continued retribution against news outlets whose coverage decisions it disagrees with.
The Pentagon announced plans to rotate out news outlets such as The New York Times and NBC News from their permanent workspaces in favor of largely right-wing outlets, adding a host of other mainstream outlets last week. The Times and NBC News published a series of stories critical of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ahead of his confirmation.
Hegseth has also taken to attacking reporters directly, lumping former Fox News colleague Jennifer Griffin in with “Trump haters” who “don’t care about facts” for reporting on a letter Democrats sent to him over repair costs to his government residence.
The Federal Communications Commission has also targeted a host of news outlets Trump has warred with. Chairman Brendan Carr has either launched or reinstated investigations into networks ABC, NBC, PBS, and CBS, along with radio networks NPR and the California-owned KCBS.
Battling with reporters and their outlets is not new to Trump and his administrations. During his first term, the White House repeatedly barred CNN reporters from events. It tried to revoke CNN reporter Jim Acosta’s permanent press pass after he pressed Trump about his comments on immigration, though Acosta successfully sued to get it reinstated.
Acosta, who has since left CNN, told the Daily Beast he believes the White House will maintain its posture.
“Typical Trump [White House] scare tactics,” Acosta said in a text message. “Stand tough and don’t back down. Why does he have such a hard time with answering simple questions?”
