The White House blocked Associated Press from its oval office and Air Force 1 as news organizations refrained from renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
On his first day in office, President Trump instructed the Department of Home Affairs to change the Gulf of Mexico to the name of the Gulf of America. Companies like Google are following the changes, but the Associated Press said it will continue to call the waters under its original name. The decision led White House officials to block Associated Press reporters from events from the oval office and the White House diplomatic response room while the situation unfolds.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budwich went to X on Friday to explain in detail, indicating that the AP will be protected from upcoming oval and Air Force offices.
Google Maps Update: McKinley of the US Bay enters after Trump's name has been changed
Google Maps is beginning to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. (AP/Google Maps)
“The Associated Press continues to ignore changes in the legitimate geographical name of the US Gulf. This decision is not merely a split, but exposes Associated Press' commitment to misinformation. Meanwhile, it is an ellipse It does not guarantee the privilege of free access to limited spaces like the shaped office or the Air Force,” Taylor Budwich wrote on X.
“From now on, that space will be open to thousands of reporters who are forbidden from covering these intimate areas of the administration,” Budwich continued. “Associate Press journalists and photographers will retain qualifications for the White House complex.”
Trump will change the name of the Gulf of Mexico and Mount Denali will take office on the first day
Earlier this week, White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said, “The fact that waters off the coast of Louisiana are called the U.S. Gulf, and I don't know why news stores don't want to call it.”
Associated Press Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Julie Pace wrote a letter to Susie Wills of the White House on Wednesday after attending a White House event to block the form.
“The actions taken by the White House were clearly intended to punish the AP for the content of the speech,” Pace wrote, according to the AP's report. “It is one of the most fundamental doctrines of the first amendment that the government cannot retaliate against the public or the press for what they say.”
The Associated Press did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
This is a developing story.
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