The White House is defending its barring of an Associated Press reporter from an Oval Office event over the wire service’s refusal to use the Gulf of America title.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday said it’s a “privilege” to be in the press pool that tracks President Trump each day and no one has an automatic right to enter the Oval Office.

Pressed on whether the White House was being retaliatory, even as it professes support for free speech, Ms. Leavitt said if it detects falsehoods, “we are going to 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.

Mr. Trump changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America at the start of his second term, though AP said its policy is to use the longstanding name.

Ms. Leavitt said the interior secretary has recognized Mr. Trump’s change, along with Apple and Google.

“It’s very important to this administration we get that right,” Ms. Leavitt said.

The AP reporter was blocked Tuesday while trying to enter a press event in which Mr. Trump signed an executive order alongside Elon Musk, who answered reporters’ questions about the Department of Government Efficiency.

In a statement, Julie Pace, senior vice president and executive editor of AP, blasted the White House for the ban.

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

The White House Correspondents’ Association also issued a rebuke. The WHCA is composed of news outlets, including The Washington Times,  that cover the White House and the president.

• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.