A White House decision prevented an Associated Press journalist from covering a presidential press briefing focused on the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico.
The White House barred an Associated Press (AP) reporter from a Thursday media event because the news agency refused to use President Trump’s preferred name, “Gulf of America,” for the body of water. This incident highlights the ongoing tension between the Trump administration and established media outlets.
Following a January executive order, the Gulf of Mexico was officially renamed the Gulf of America, and Mt. McKinley in Alaska reverted to its original name after a previous renaming to Denali. While AP adopted the new name for the mountain, it maintained use of the traditional name for the Gulf, citing its international status.
The AP confirmed Friday that its reporter was denied access to a joint press conference featuring President Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. AP Executive Editor Julie Pace called the exclusion a “deeply troubling escalation,” noting it was the third day AP reporters had been blocked from covering the president.
“The Associated Press continues to disregard the legal geographic name change to the Gulf of America. This is not only divisive but also demonstrates the AP’s commitment to misinformation,” White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich stated on X (formerly Twitter) Friday. “AP journalists and photographers will retain their White House credentials,” he added.
“Restricting our access to the Oval Office based on AP’s reporting is a serious impediment to the public’s access to independent news and a clear violation of the First Amendment,” Pace stated.
The naming dispute is part of a larger conflict between the Trump administration and US media. Recently, the White House has reviewed federal funding for news organizations, with President Trump claiming that subscriptions and service payments are “payoffs” for favorable coverage of Democrats.
Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), criticized millions spent on subscriptions to services like Politico Pro, calling the media funding “a huge waste of taxpayer money.” The administration has subsequently moved to cancel such subscriptions.
Media organizations have defended these expenditures as standard practice for accessing specialized reporting and analysis.
Trump also alleged billions of dollars were misused within agencies like USAID to fund favorable media coverage of Democrats. Several US media outlets, including Politico, the New York Times, and the Associated Press, have denied these accusations. CNN called the claims a “false right-wing conspiracy theory.”