White House Blocks Associated Press from Oval Office, Air Force One for Gulf of America ‘Dishonest Reporting’

Developing Friday, the White House blocked access for the Associated Press to the Oval Office and Air Force One. AP senior vice president and executive editor Julie Pace wrote to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles on Wednesday after a reporter was blocked from attending a White House event.

“The actions taken by this White House were plainly intended to punish the AP for the content of its speech,” Pace wrote, according to an AP report. “It is among the most basic tenets of the First Amendment that the government cannot retaliate against the public or the press for what they say.”

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich took to X on Friday to explain the AP has not abided by the change of renaming the “Gulf of Mexico” to the “Gulf of America.”

“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,” Taylor Budowich posted on X.

“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,” Budowich continued. “Associated Press journalists and photographers will retain their credentials to the White House complex.”

On his first day in office, President Trump directed the Department of the Interior to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. “Companies such as Google have gone along with the change, but the Associated Press has said it would continue to call the body of water by its original name. The decision has irked White House officials, who have blocked AP reporters from events in the Oval Office and the White House’s Diplomatic Reception Room in recent days while the situation played out” reports Fox News.

Earlier this week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that “it is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America, and I’m not sure why news outlets don’t want to call it that.”