The Trump Administration has garnered more disapproval with their recent decision to bar the Associated Press (AP) from many White House events, including access to press releases and trips with the president. The administration went as far as banning AP from an international meeting between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which took place in the Oval Office, effectively shutting the news organization out from receiving information that is of global importance.
The feud between the current administration and the news organization began when Trump banned a reporter from accessing an event on Feb. 11. The disagreement escalated throughout the week as more reporters and photographers from AP were banned from entering different White House proceedings. The administration’s reasoning behind this decision was voiced by White House deputy chief of staff, Taylor Budowich, through a post on X.
“The Associated Press continues to ignore the lawful geographic name change of the Gulf of America,”the post said. “This decision is not just divisive, but it also exposes the Associated Press’ commitment to misinformation.”
AP, which is widely known for producing unbiased news coverage and is even regarded as “one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering,” by a Cornell University report, isn’t ignoring lawful changes like Budowich claims. The organization recognized Trump’s decision to change the name but noted that they would continue to refer to the body of water as the ‘Gulf of Mexico’ due to the fact that the gulf borders both America and Mexico, making it not solely a domestic decision. The news outlet, which caters to a global audience, decided to keep the Gulf’s original name as not to confuse readers.
The administration’s decision to change the name to Gulf of America was a major concern to the senior vice President and executive editor of AP news, Julie Pace, who released a statement shortly after the event.
“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,” Pace said. “It plainly violates the First Amendment.”
The constitutionality of barring AP’s access to presidential proceedings is currently the largest worry of many news outlets as it violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of speech and press. Dissatisfied about the decision the administration made, over 30 news companies signed a letter, which was then sent to the White House, calling for the restoration of AP to White House media pools.
Even Newsmax, which is generally a right wing platform, said in a statement that they still support AP’s rights as a private organization to use the language they want in reports and recognizes the importance of the press’s ability to report freely, even if they [Newsmax] don’t always agree with what is being said.
The most recent update from the Trump administration regarding the situation is that the White House will determine what members of the press will have access to presidential events, such as the oval office or Air Force One, rotating out some traditional outlets to include other forms such as popular streaming services. The list of approved news organizations has not been released yet, so currently all other news organizations will continue to have access.
