The Associated Press on Friday said the Trump Administration’s decision to indefinitely ban the outlet from the Oval Office will “chip away” at the right to freedom of speech held by all Americans.
Earlier on Friday, the White House press team said the AP was banned due to its decision to continue to refer to the Gulf of Mexico by its internationally recognized name instead of following Trump’s executive order to call it the “Gulf of America.”
“Freedom of speech is a pillar of American democracy and a core value of the American people. The White House has said it supports these principles,” AP spokesperson Lauren Easton said in a statement shared with TheWrap.
She continued: “The actions taken to restrict AP’s coverage of presidential events because of how we refer to a geographic location chip away at this important right enshrined in the U.S. Constitution for all Americans.”
The ongoing AP-Trump feud started on Tuesday, when the outlet was barred from a press conference President Trump held alongside Elon Musk (and his son X Æ A-Xii).
Soon after, AP Executive Editor Julie Pace said the outlet was blocked because it was not adhering to the name Gulf of America, after President Trump signed an executive order last month renaming the gulf — which touches Mexico, the southern U.S. and Cuba — on government maps, contracts and other documents.
On Friday, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich said the AP “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.”
Budowich said that “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.”
He added: “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,”
The AP’s journalists and photographers will continue to retain their credentials to the White House complex, Budowich said.
His comments echoed those made by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt during a press briefing on Wednesday, when she said it was a “privilege” to cover the White House.
“Nobody has the right to go into the Oval Office and ask the president of the United States questions,” Leavitt said. “That is an invitation that is given.”
Soon after the president’s executive order last month, Amanda Barrett, the AP’s vice president of news, standards and inclusion, made an announcement as to why the outlet would continue to call it the Gulf of Mexico.
“The Gulf of Mexico has 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,” Barrett explained. “As a global news agency that disseminates news around the world, the AP must ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences.”
A number of other outlets beyond the AP, including Bloomberg and The New York Times, have said they will continue to refer to it as the Gulf of Mexico.
On Wednesday, Leavitt claimed the new name was now “a fact” and said she couldn’t understand why the AP or any other news organization would not call it the Gulf of America. “It is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America, and I’m not sure why news outlets don’t want to call it that,” she said.
