The White House escalated its feud with The Associated Press on Friday, blocking the news outlet from the Oval Office and Air Force One because it refuses to use Gulf of America as the new moniker for the Gulf of Mexico.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich announced that the AP would be kept out of both the Oval Office and Air Force One.
“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,” he wrote.
“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. Associated Press journalists and photographers will retain their credentials to the White House complex,” Mr. Budowich said.
Also on Friday, an Associated Press reporter trying to enter the Oval Office as part of a pool of reporters to watch Mr. Trump sign executive orders was told they could not enter.
“No. Sorry,” the staffer said, according to reporters in the pool.
The Associated Press did not respond to a request for comment on the ongoing and new restrictions.
On Thursday, the White House stopped Associated Press reporters from attending events because it refuses to use the Gulf of America name, the news outlet confirmed.
An AP reporter was blocked from attending an open-press news conference with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the swearing-in ceremony for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
In a statement, AP Executive Editor Julie Pace called the ban “a deeply troubling escalation of the administration’s continued efforts to punish The Associated Press for its editorial decisions.”
The AP protested the move and Ms. Pace sent a letter to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles imploring the administration to stop banning the news organization’s journalists. The AP said it had not received a response to the letter.
The AP said it would continue to use the “Gulf of Mexico” name. The news agency said that because it disseminates news around the world, it must ensure that names and geography are recognizable to global audiences.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt suggested that the AP was lying by continuing to identify the body of water as the Gulf of Mexico. She said that if the White House detects falsehoods, it would “hold those lies accountable.”
“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, but that is what it is,” Ms. Leavitt said.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.