Reporters from the left-leaning Associated Press were prohibited from participating in a White House event inside the Oval Office Tuesday, complaining the Trump administration was punishing them for refusing to acknowledge his renaming of the “Gulf of Mexico” to the “Gulf of America.”
AP Executive Editor Julie Pace in a statement Tuesday claimed Trump’s refusal to allow her news organization to cover the event amounted to suppression of free speech.
“As a global news organization, The Associated Press informs billions of people around the world every day with factual, nonpartisan journalism,” Pace claimed.
“Today we were informed by the White House that if AP did not align its editorial standards with President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, AP would be barred from accessing an event in the Oval Office.”
“This afternoon AP‘s reporter was blocked from attending an executive order signing,” the AP chief editor said.
Pace went on to claim the Trump administration was violating the First Amendment.
“It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism. 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 incident comes as the AP last month following President Trump’s inauguration issued guidance to reporters advising them to ignore the presidential executive order renaming the body of water to the “Gulf of America,” and to continue referring to it as the “Gulf of Mexico,” arguing it’s “carried that name for more than 400 years.”
“The Associated Press will refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen,” the organization wrote.
The news group was savaged on social media for “deadnaming” the Gulf of America.
How dare you deadname Our Gulf of America.
— The Redheaded libertarian (@TRHLofficial) February 12, 2025
While the AP refuses to acknowledge Trump’s name change, Google and Apple maps have altered their apps to reflect the name change.
On his first day in office, Trump signed the “Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness” executive order renaming the gulf and restoring the name of America’s highest mountain peak, renamed “Denali” under the Obama administration, to “Mount McKinley.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the AP situation Wednesday, saying the administration would not honor organizations that publish falsehoods.
“I was very upfront in my briefing on day one that if we feel that there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable,” she said.
“It is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America. I’m not sure why news outlets don’t want to call it that, but that is what it is. The Secretary of Interior has made that official designation in the geographical identification name server. Apple has recognized that. Google has recognized that. Pretty much every other outlet in this room has recognized that body of water as the Gulf of America, and it’s very important to this administration that we get that right, not just for the people of America but also for the rest of the world.”
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