News website Axios said the editorial team will now refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America per Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14172.
“Our top priority at Axios is to provide readers with clinical, fact-based reporting,” the news outlet posted on X. “Our standard is to use ‘Gulf of America (renamed by U.S. from Gulf of Mexico)’ in our reporting because our audience is mostly U.S.-based compared to other publishers with international audiences.”
But the statement from Axios continued, saying “the government should never dictate how any news organization makes editorial decisions. The AP and all news organizations should be free to report as they see fit. This is a bedrock of a free press and durable democracy.”
It was not immediately clear whether Axios had been standing its ground on the name choice, or faced any pushback. The outlet did not immediately respond Saturday to a request for comment.
The decision was made Friday, hours Trump permanently banned the Associated Press from the Oval Office due to its refusal to refer to the body of water as the Gulf of America.
“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,” explained White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich on X on Friday. “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 continued. “Associated Press journalists and photographers will retain their credentials to the White House complex.”
Julie Pace, AP executive editor, said the decision was “a deeply troubling escalation of the administration’s continued efforts to punish the Associated Press for its editorial decisions.”
