Trump White House Expands AP Ban to Air Force One Over ‘Gulf of America’ Dispute
“While their right to irresponsible and dishonest reporting is protected by the First Amendment, it does not ensure their privilege of unfettered access to limited spaces, like the Oval Office and Air Force One.”
As Legal Insurrection reported earlier this week, the Trump White House made clear they were not playing around with the Associated Press over their refusal to refer to what was previously called the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” effectively banning them from press events in the Oval Office.
Contrary to critics’ claims, the Trump administration has been serious about the matter. On his first day back in office last month, President Donald Trump put the renaming in writing via an Executive Order, stating that “in recognition of this flourishing economic resource and its critical importance to our Nation’s economy and its people, I am directing that it officially be renamed the Gulf of America.”
Ahead of Trump’s first visit to the region since its official renaming, he proclaimed February 9, 2025, to be “Gulf of America Day.”
While most media outlets have adjusted their terminology to reflect the name change following the EO, the Associated Press has not. Now, their continued refusal to do so has earned them a ban extension, with the White House taking it beyond the Oval Office and extending it to Air Force One, as explained by Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich:
“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. While their right to irresponsible and dishonest reporting is protected by the First Amendment, it does not ensure their privilege of unfettered access to limited spaces, like the Oval Office and Air Force One. Going forward, that space will now be opened up to the many thousands of reporters who have been barred from covering these intimate areas of the administration. Associate Press journalists and photographers will retain their credentials to the White House complex.”
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. While their right to irresponsible and dishonest reporting is protected…
— Taylor Budowich (@Taylor47) February 14, 2025
Though there has been the expected hyperventilating from the AP and other news organizations, they aren’t finding much sympathy from those who understand that the purported news organization is little more than a propaganda arm for leftist causes:
What’s telling about the refusal to abide by what the White House describes as a “lawful geographic name change” is that the AP has notoriously updated its guidelines to adhere to whatever random language change progressive lawmakers and lobbyists have ordered.
[…]
In 2023, the AP asked journalists to put the words “woke” and “anti-abortion” in quotation marks due to the words “derogatory” use by conservatives.
“A slang term that originally described enlightenment or awakening about issues of racial and other forms of social justice,” read an explanation of the word in an AP Stylebook post on Twitter.
“Some people and groups, especially conservatives, now use it in a derogatory sense implying what they see as overreactions. Avoid using the term other than in direct quotations.”
We’ve written about that extensively here:
- Associated Press Reporters Can Only Describe Hamas Terrorists as Militants, ‘Fighters, Attackers, or Combatants’
- The Associated Press Thoroughly Beclowns Itself With Stylebook Change on the Word ‘The’
- AP Stylebook Goes to Bat for Dems on ‘Pregnant People’ Having Abortions
- AP Stylebook Now Says Don’t Call Riots “Riots”
- Associated Press Will Capitalize Black, But Not White Since They Haven’t Faced Discrimination Due to Skin Color
- Political takeover of language nears completion — AP bans “illegal immigrants”
Take a look at what the AP is up to behind the scenes. https://t.co/POhN80rs9H pic.twitter.com/ELKn1ESNxl
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) February 14, 2025
There was a time when what Peter says here about the AP was true, but it has not been true for a long time now. https://t.co/HspDmojnHf
— Brit Hume (@brithume) February 15, 2025
Stop deadnaming, @AP. It identifies as the Gulf of America now. Gulf of Mexico is a colonizer's name. https://t.co/oU5f8FvCcr
— @instapundit (@instapundit) February 15, 2025
Play stupid games, Associated Press, win stupid prizes.
-Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter/X.-
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Comments
While Associated Press still has access to the press briefing room, hopefully they will never be called on to ask a question.
This is so stupid. Trump has a mandate to fundamentally change America but instead all he talks about is annexing Greenland or Canada. So stupid. It will always be the Gulf of Mexico to me and Greenland just like it was in all of my classes in grade school and high school. Trump can’t change that.
Are you so mad you are not going to vote for Trump in the next election?
And while the intellectual Pygmies as bright as a 5w bulb like you are distracted he fundamentally changes America
“…instead all he talks about is annexing Greenland or Canada.”
Jesus H. Christ, JR. Where the hell have you been hiding? ALL he talks about?
You simp. It figures you’d pop up here to bloviate about this nothingburger like anyone really gives a crap about your opinion. You haven’t bothered to comment at all on all the OTHER posts here about DOGE and the enormously consequential actions Trump has already taken.
You’re a weak-minded parasite. Go post over at DU or Vox where your full-diaper posts are welcome.
Peking for you on line 3.
The communists like to enforce language , they deserve the same treatment.
I’m pretty sure that “AP” now stands for “Always Progressive.”
Or “Almost Professional.”
I like “Annoyingly Progressive”.
Whatever one’s politics, I hope we can agree that, so far, this administration has been the most *entertaining* ever.
I think that making an example of AP was a great move.
“What’s telling about the refusal to abide by what the White House describes as a “lawful geographic name change” is that the AP has notoriously updated its guidelines to adhere to whatever random language change progressive lawmakers and lobbyists have ordered.’
True, dat.
The AP thru its widely followed (by other press outlets) “AP Stylebook” has an Orwellian control over what language and wording other press outlets use in their reportage. If the AP says (for example) in its guide all references to President Trump must be written as “President” Trump – the desired inference being that (Russia Russia Russia or Elon Elon Elon) Trump’s election was (for Reasons) invalid other outlets will follow suit.
If the WH is serious about the name change they can’t afford NOT to do pushback vs the AP’s pushback on the name change.
I”m sorry but how can one talk about the AP and leave out the part when they decided to capitalize “Black in a racial, ethnic or cultural sense, conveying an essential and shared sense of history, identity and community among people who identify as Black, including those in the African diaspora and within Africa. The lowercase black is a color, not a person.”
But for those who are Caucasians the letter “w” in white was to be in lower case.
When writing about blacks I always use lower case, I am tired of all the black s….
Like the Left hasn’t been on a renaming spree for years!! And now they get upset? Ha!
I would like to see historical stuff like statutes returned to the public square, and the one they destroyed recreated.
The AP never had an issue when Democrats were changing the names of everything.
Trump should give the AP the Barky press treatment – lock them in the utility closet. The press loved it when Barky did that. Let ’em have more of it.
These “principled yurinalists” had absolutely no problem adopting every twig of “new language” that Biden told them to adopt. Women’s health. Gender-affirming care. Gun safety.
“Your second mistake was not knowing before whom you are supposed to kneel.” –GRIMM
That the AP which influences the rest of media and thus the ‘Overton window’ of broad sections of public discourse is upset b/c they are being held to the same standards as the pronoun and tone policing, dead naming vigilantes regime they set in motion is hilarious. They created the climate of exclusion based on ‘wrong words’.
Hey, DJT didn’t name it “Gulf of the United States”. The AP needs to take a time out.
An AP report from 2015 on Obama renaming Mt McKinley:
“WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration will change the name of North America’s tallest mountain peak from Mount McKinley to Denali, the White House said Sunday, a major symbolic gesture to Alaska Natives on the eve of President Barack Obama’s historic visit to Alaska….
The peak got its officially recognized name in 1896, when a prospector was exploring mountains in central Alaska, the White House said. Upon hearing the news that McKinley, a Republican, had received his party’s nomination to be president, the prospector named it after him and the name was formally recognized.
https://apnews.com/travel-and-tourism-5b49e44ab3054fe8b221cf2c24ffdd65
I mean if the AP is so fixated on calling place by their original native names, why don’t they refer to France as Gaul or the isle of Great Britain as Albion?
It’s as simple as Black and white.