AP reporters blocked for refusing to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico, press corps clashes with White House
When the AP refused to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico by executive order under the Trump administration, the White House issued a measure to ‘block AP reporters’ from the White House press conference, and the US media outlets clashed with the press corps and the White House for ‘violating the First Amendment.’
On the 11th, the AP criticized the White House for violating the First Amendment and officially announced that the Trump administration would stop blocking reporters from accessing press conferences.
On the 11th, AP Executive Editor Julie Pace wrote to X, <Today, I sent a letter to the White House, opposing the AP reporters being blocked from the event: “One of the most basic principles of the First Amendment is that the government cannot retaliate against them for what they say to the public or the press.”>
Eugene Daniels, president of the White House Correspondents' Association, said in a statement on the 11th, "The White House cannot dictate how news organizations report the news, nor should it penalize journalists for disagreeing with editorial decisions."
Charlie Statlander, a New York Times spokesman, said in a statement that day, "We stand with the Associated Press in opposing government retaliation for editorial decisions with which the administration disagrees."
The New York Times reported on the 12th that “AP Executive Editor Julie Pace wrote a letter to White House Chief of Staff Suzy Wiles saying that the White House had blocked AP reporters from attending the signing ceremony for the executive order in the Oval Office with President Trump and the evening news conference in the Diplomatic Room on Tuesday.”
Pace said in the letter that White House press secretary Caroline Levitt had previously informed AP reporters that access to the Oval Office would be restricted if the news agency did not use the term “Gulf of America” to refer to the Gulf of Mexico.
On his first day in office, President Trump ordered the name of the Gulf of Mexico to be changed on official maps via an executive order. In the letter, Pace wrote, “The White House’s actions were clearly intended to punish the AP’s speech,” and “One of the most fundamental principles of the First Amendment is that the government cannot retaliate against the public or the press for what they say.
This is viewpoint discrimination based on editorial choices by a news organization, and a clear violation of the First Amendment,” and that the AP “stands ready to vigorously defend its constitutional rights.”
On January 23, the AP released an editorial guideline regarding the name change, officially announcing, “We are not required to recognize the name change,” and “We will recognize the new name chosen by Trump and refer to it by its original name.”
The editorial guideline stated, “President Donald Trump signed an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the United States Gulf. The waters share a border between the United States and Mexico. Trump’s order has authority only within the United States. Mexico, as well as other countries and international organizations, are not required to recognize the name change.”
The guideline continued, “The Gulf of Mexico has had that name for more than 400 years. The Associated Press will acknowledge the new name chosen by Trump and refer to it by its original name> and stated, <As a global news agency that disseminates news around the world, AP must ensure that place names and geographies are easily recognizable to all audiences. The AP regularly reviews its style guidelines regarding name changes to ensure that they reflect common usage. We will continue to apply this approach to these guidelines and update them as needed>.
The AP guidelines stated, <There are other examples of referring to geographic places by more than one name> and <The Gulf of California is sometimes called the Sea of Cortez. The U.S. government has designated this body of water as the Gulf of California, and Mexico recognizes it as the Sea of Cortez>.
In the announcement that day, the AP editorial director stated, “Since President Trump’s executive order has authority only within the United States and is not recognized by Mexico, we will continue to refer to the body of water as the Gulf of Mexico,” and “Regarding Trump’s announcement that he would refer to Denali, a peak in Alaska, as Mount McKinley, “The AP will change the official name to Mount McKinley.”
President Trump signed an executive order shortly after taking office to rename Denali, the highest peak in North America, to Mount McKinley in Alaska.
Former Democratic President Barack Obama changed the official name to Denali in 2015 to reflect the traditions of Alaska Natives and the preferences of many Alaskans.
Republican President Trump stated in the executive order that he would “restore the name of the great President William McKinley to Mount McKinley.”
The Associated Press announced the official name change to Mount McKinley and stated, “This area belongs entirely to the United States, and the President has the authority as President to change federal names within the United States,” and rejected the request to change the name to the Gulf of Mexico, saying, “It is not recognized by Mexico, so we will continue to use the Gulf of Mexico.”
The New York Times reported in detail the exchange of words between reporters and Press Secretary Levitt in the White House briefing room that day.
From the podium in the White House briefing room, press secretary Caroline Levitt said the administration has the right to single out the Associated Press, while talking about the administration’s commitment to the First Amendment.
“It’s a privilege to cover this White House,” Levitt said. “My role is a privilege. No one has the right to go into the Oval Office and ask questions of the president of the United States.”
“Other credentialed reporters are not part of the press pool,” Levitt continued. “We have the right to decide who gets into the Oval Office,” Levitt said, referring to “the press secretary’s right to decide who gets into the Oval Office.”
When asked if there were standards in place for how news organizations would be treated if they didn’t use the “Gulf of America,” Levitt said, “If we feel that news organizations are pushing lies in this room, we’re going to hold them accountable for those lies.” Levitt added, “I don’t understand why some news outlets wouldn’t use the name ‘Gulf of America’ when they claim it’s the name of a body of water.”
Later that day, another AP reporter was blocked from an Oval Office event, this time for Tulsi Gabbard’s inauguration as Director of National Intelligence.
“We are deeply concerned that the White House continues to block AP journalists from continuing their work covering the President,” AP Managing Editor Pace said in a statement.
On the issue of the First Amendment’s right to “free speech,” Timothy Richardson, director of the journalism and misinformation program at free-expression nonprofit PEN America, told the Times that the move was “clear and simple retaliation, a shameful attempt to bully the press into ideological conformity.”
The full statement from Julie Pace, AP's editorial director, on the 11th is as follows:
<The Associated Press, a global news organization, provides fact-based, nonpartisan journalism that informs billions of people around the world every day.
Today, we were informed by the White House that if the Associated Press does not comply with editorial standards in accordance with President Donald Trump's executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the United States Bay, the AP will be blocked from accessing events held in the Oval Office. This afternoon, AP reporters were blocked from attending the executive order signing ceremony. It is concerning that the Trump administration will punish the independent journalism of the Associated Press. Restricting access to the President’s office based on the content of the AP’s speeches not only seriously hinders the public’s access to independent news, but also clearly violates the First Amendment.
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution (Freedom of Religion, Speech, and the Press, and the Right to Assemble and Petition) stipulates absolute freedom as follows: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; nor shall any law be made abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
The freedom of the press in the Korean Constitution is stipulated in Article 21, ① All citizens shall enjoy freedom of speech and the press, and freedom of assembly and association. ② No license or censorship of speech or the press, or license of assembly or association shall be recognized. ③ The standards for communication and broadcasting facilities and the matters necessary to ensure the function of newspapers shall be determined by law. ④ The press and publication shall not infringe upon the honor or rights of others or upon public morals or social ethics. When the press and publication infringe upon the honor or rights of others, the victim may claim compensation for the damages.