AP Says Reporter Blocked From Oval Office Over ‘Gulf of America’ Policy

The Associated Press logo is shown at the entrance to the news organization's office in New York, on July 13, 2023. Aaron Jackson/AP Photo

The Associated Press (AP) said that the White House barred one of its reporters from attending an Oval Office executive order signing on Tuesday due to the outlet’s style guidance on using the name Gulf of Mexico.

AP’s senior vice president and executive editor, Julie Pace, said the White House has demanded that the news outlet amend its style guidance to align with President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

Pace said that limiting AP reporters’ access based on the outlet’s content language choices would amount to a violation of the First Amendment.

“It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism,” Pace said in a Feb. 11 statement.

The AP reported that a second reporter from the outlet was later barred from a late-evening event in the White House’s Diplomatic Room but did not state the reason.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration will take action against those it deems to be spreading falsehoods, as she maintained that “it is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America.”

“We reserve the right to decide who gets to go into the Oval Office,” Leavitt said. “If we feel that there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable.”

The AP’s guidance, published on Jan. 23, states that it will continue to refer to the gulf by its original name while also acknowledging the new name. The outlet said this is because “Trump’s order only carries authority within the United States” and that other countries and international bodies do not have to recognize the name change.

“The Gulf of Mexico has carried that name for more than 400 years,” the guidance stated. “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.”

Trump’s executive order directed the Interior Department to rename the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America,” and restore the name Mount McKinley for North America’s tallest mountain, Denali, in honor of the 25th U.S. president, William McKinley.

The AP said it will use the name Mount McKinley because “the area lies solely in the United States” and Trump has the authority to change federal geographical names.

The White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) issued a statement backing the AP and called on the Trump administration “to immediately change course.”

WHCA president Eugene Daniels said the White House’s move to block AP reporters from attending an official event is unacceptable.

“In the relationship between the press and the Office of the President, coverage and standards are entirely in the purview of individual organizations,” Daniels stated. “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.”

National Press Club President Mike Balsamo called the White House’s action to block AP reporters’ access “a direct attack on press freedom” and urged it to reverse course.

Google has updated its Google Maps platform to use the name Gulf of America, saying that it has “longstanding practices” of applying name changes when they are updated in official government sources.

The name change will only be visible to users in the United States, the tech giant said. The name Gulf of Mexico will remain the same in Mexico, while users in other countries will see both names displayed on Google Maps.

The U.S. Coast Guard started using the name Gulf of America in its communications on Jan. 21. It pledged to increase its presence in several areas, including “the maritime border between Texas and Mexico in the Gulf of America,” as part of efforts to combat illegal immigration and drug smuggling into the United States.