The White House plays name games with the Associated Press

Published February 21, 2025 4:45am ET



There is no such thing as an individual First Amendment right to access the White House, and the Associated Press found that out earlier this month after two of its reporters were barred from White House events by the Trump administration press team.

The dispute with President Donald Trump revolves around his executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.” The AP has since issued guidance through its official Stylebook to ignore the Trump order. “The Gulf of Mexico has carried that name for more than 400 years,” the AP guidance reads. “The Associated Press will refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen.”

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