White House imposes indefinite ban on Associated Press over "Gulf of Mexico" dispute

The Trump administration announced on Friday that the Associated Press (AP) would be indefinitely barred from accessing the Oval Office and Air Force One following a dispute over the use of the term "Gulf of Mexico."

Last month, President Donald Trump ordered the US government to officially rename the body of water the “Gulf of America,” a change that has been implemented within government agencies.

However, as the new name has not been recognized internationally, the AP continued using "Gulf of Mexico" while also acknowledging Trump’s decree, a decision mirrored by other global news outlets, Caliber.Az reports referring to CNN.

In response, the White House singled out the AP, excluding the news agency from attending presidential events. Although AP photographers were still permitted to cover events, the agency’s reporters were blocked from covering presidential activities.

Shortly before departing for Mar-a-Lago on February 14, the White House confirmed that the AP would not be allowed aboard Air Force One. Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich addressed the issue on X (formerly Twitter), calling the AP’s decision “divisive” and accusing the outlet of “misinformation.” Budowich also stated that while the AP would retain its credentials for White House grounds, its access to "pooled" events, such as Air Force One flights, would be revoked. The press pool is crucial for providing shared coverage to the broader media.

“The Associated Press helped create the press pool, dating back to 1881, when an AP reporter first served as the pool reporter during the hospitalization of President Garfield,” the AP noted in response. “It has remained an integral part of presidential coverage ever since.”

The AP, a cooperative service that provides news to thousands of clients worldwide, is now preparing for a potential legal challenge, with some AP staff describing the ban as a clear instance of “viewpoint discrimination.”

The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA), which oversees pool access, denounced the move as a violation of the First Amendment and President Trump's own executive order on free speech. The WHCA, which represents the press corps, emphasized that the ban infringes on the media’s rights to freely report on government activities.

The situation remains fluid, and the WHCA's assessment of the AP's future inclusion in the press pool will be closely monitored.

By Tamilla Hasanova