"Gulf of America"

White House bans AP reporter from Oval Office

US President Donald Trump had AP reporters banned.

(Bild: EPA)

Due to its refusal to call the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America" as requested by US President Donald Trump, the renowned US news agency Associated Press (AP) has been permanently banned from Trump's office and the presidential plane. 

AP "continues to ignore the rightful geographic name change of the Gulf of America", White House Deputy Chief of Cabinet Taylor Budowich wrote on Friday in the online service X to explain the decision.

"Many thousands of other reporters"
The news agency's right "to irresponsible and dishonest reporting is protected by the First Amendment", Budowich continued. However, this does not secure AP "the privilege of unfettered access to restricted spaces such as the Oval Office and Air Force One". Instead of the news agency, this space is now "open to the many thousands of reporters who were previously banned from reporting from these confidential areas of government".

Since Tuesday, AP reporters have been repeatedly denied access to presidential appointments in the Oval Office. The reason is that AP continues to refer to the Gulf of Mexico by its traditional name, which has been used for more than 400 years. Immediately after taking office in January, Trump issued a decree renaming the body of water the Gulf of America.

AP editor-in-chief sees violation of the US constitution
AP editor-in-chief Julie Pace condemned the White House's actions as a violation of the freedom of speech and freedom of the press enshrined in the US constitution. In addition, it was a "disservice to the billions of people" who rely on the news agency in their search for unbiased news, AP criticized.

AP is the largest news agency in the USA. Its linguistic rules have been standard reading for newsrooms and corporate offices for years. In a style note last month, AP explained that Trump's name decree "is only valid within the United States". As a global news agency that distributes news around the world, AP must "ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences," it continued.