White House Bars AP Reporter For Failing To Use 'Gulf Of America' Designation

On Tuesday this week, AP spent its time writing about how the White House barred one of its press reporters from an Oval Office event on Tuesday after the news agency refused to adopt President Donald Trump’s directive to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America."

A second AP reporter was later blocked from a separate event in the White House Diplomatic Room, the news agency reported.

The AP did not identify the reporter involved. The ban, which officials had threatened earlier that day, raises potential free speech concerns.

Julie Pace, AP’s senior vice president and executive editor, condemned the action, calling it “unacceptable.”

She commented: “It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism. Limiting our access to the Oval Office based on the content of AP’s speech not only severely impedes the public’s access to independent news, it plainly violates the First Amendment.”

Oh, so all of a sudden everyone is all worked up about the first amendment? Where were these 'honest' reporters the last 4 years?

AP says that no other journalists were affected, though the administration also recently evicted several news outlets from Pentagon office spaces.

The White House Correspondents Association condemned the move, stating: “The White House cannot dictate how news organizations report the news, nor should it penalize working journalists because it is unhappy with their editors’ decision.”

Meanwhile, Google Maps quickly adopted "Gulf of America," with Apple Maps partially following suit. The Gulf, bordering both the U.S. and Mexico, has carried its original name for over 400 years.

Trump also ordered Alaska’s Denali reverted to "Mount McKinley," reversing President Obama’s 2015 decision. The AP agreed to use "Mount McKinley" since it falls under U.S. jurisdiction, unlike the Gulf’s internationally recognized name.

Meanwhile, of course...