Trump White House Bans Associated Press from Oval Office, Air Force One for Using These 'Divisive' 3 Words

Mar. 15, 2025

Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office on Feb. 13, 2025.Photo:Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty

Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty

PresidentDonald Trump’s White House has banned The Associated Press from accessing key press areas after the independent news outlet declined to mimic the administration’s “preferred language” for an international body of water.

“The Associated Press continues to ignore the lawful geographic name change of the Gulf of America. This decision is not just divisive, but it also exposes the Associated Press' commitment to misinformation,” Budowich said in astatement, which revealed the terms of the ban.

Budowich clarified that the administration will allow AP journalists to retain their broader White House credentials, though the outlet is a core member of the official White House press pool, which is supposed to be present wherever the president addresses reporters.

President Donald Trump speaks to press on Air Force One about the newly named “Gulf of America” on Feb. 9, 2025.ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty

ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty

The White House began hinting at retaliation toward the AP after the news organization — which is considered the gold standard of independent, nonpartisan journalism —revealed how it will handleTrump’s “Gulf of America” name change, which only applies within the United States of America.

At the same time, the AP said that it would completely honor Trump’s decision to revert “Mount Denali” back to the name “Mount McKinley,” since the United States government has full authority over that landmark.

The sea touching Celestun, Mexico, is now called the “Gulf of America” in the United States.Geography Photos/Universal Images Group via Getty

Geography Photos/Universal Images Group via Getty

“As a global news organization, The Associated Press informs billions of people around the world every day with factual, nonpartisan journalism,” responded Julie Pace, executive editor of the AP, in astatementon Tuesday, Feb. 11.

“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,” she continued.

President Donald Trump signs executive orders at the Resolute Desk on Jan. 20, 2025.Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty

Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty

“Let me be clear: the White House is seeking to curtail the press freedoms enshrined in our Constitution, and has admitted publicly they are restricting access to events to punish a news outlet for not advancing the government’s preferred language,” said WHCA President Eugene Daniels in a statement on Feb. 13.

“Free speech and a free press are among the defining values of American democracy and must be preserved and protected.”

Daniels stated that the White House press pool system is an important tool for ensuring that media outlets around the globe can be provided with accurate information about what the president says and does.

“The attempted government censorship of a free press risks a chilling effect on journalists doing their job without fear or favor on behalf of the American people," he added. “This is a textbook violation of not only the First Amendment, but the president’s own executive order on freedom of speech and ending federal censorship.”

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Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump’s administration has increased press access for right-leaning news outlets, inviting a handful of nontraditional organizations to participate in the official White House press briefings.

In February, the Department of Defense also stripped four major organizations —The New York Times, NBC News, NPR and Politico — of their dedicated office spaces at the Pentagon and handed them over to notably partisan organizations: theNew York Post, Breitbart News, One America News and HuffPost.

source: people.com