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The White House on Friday announced that it has indefinitely banned The Associated Press (AP) from accessing the Oval Office and Air Force One indefinitely, CNN reported. The news agency was singled out by the White House earlier this week over its use of the words: "Gulf of Mexico."
Earlier in January, the US President announced that the US government would rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and the change has taken effect at government agencies. However, the new name has not been recognised by other nations. The Associated Press still refers to it as the Gulf of Mexico. Other news outlets in the world have also made similar decisions. However, the White House this week singled out the AP and banned its reporters from attending presidential events. Photographers working for the AP were permitted to attend the events. Shortly before Trump departed the White House for Mar-a-Lago on Friday, his administration said that the AP would not be permitted to travel aboard Air Force One for the trip. In a statement shared on X, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich said that The Associated Press continues to ignore the lawful geographic name change of the Gulf of America and called its decision "divisive" and it exposes agencies commitment to misinformation. He announced that AP 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 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," Budowich posted on X. https://x.com/Taylor47/status/1890453490398326919 Banning the AP from accessing what is known as "pooled" events like Air Force One flights, interferes with the news outlet's ability to perform its job, CNN reported. The "press pool" travels with US President all the time and shares information with the press corps. The AP has repeatedly indicated that it is preparing a legal challenge, CNN reported. An AP employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity said, "It's hard to come up with a clearer case of viewpoint discrimination," as per the report. On Thursday, the White House Correspondents Association, which represents the press corps, said the decision taken against The Associated Press "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." (ANI)
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