The Associated Press on Tuesday said the White House barred its reporter from an event at the Oval Office because the news agency would not start using “Gulf of America” to describe the Gulf of Mexico.
A statement said an AP reporter was not allowed to attend the signing of an executive order in the afternoon. U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who is in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), were at the event.
“It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism. 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, it plainly violates the First Amendment,” AP executive editor Julie Pace said in the statement.
After taking office, Trump ordered that the water bordered by the Southern United States, Mexico and Cuba be renamed to the Gulf of America. He also ordered the name for America’s highest mountain peak, Mount Denali, be changed back to Mount McKinley.
In a statement last month, the AP said its reporters and editors would continue to describe the gulf “by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen.”
“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,” the notice read.
The agency did say it would adopt Mount McKinley for the Alaskan peak because “the area lies solely in the United States and as president, Trump has the authority to change federal geographical names within the country.”
The AP’s style guide is a reference for many English-language journalists around the world. It provides standardized rules for grammar, punctuation, spelling and other facets of news writing. It can be updated to reflect changes in writing style and new guidelines.
