The Trump administration announced Friday that The Associated Press is now barred indefinitely from both the Oval Office and Air Force One.
The AP, one of the largest news organizations in the world, was specifically targeted by the White House earlier in the week over its continued use of the term “Gulf of Mexico.”
Last month, President Donald Trump declared that the U.S. government would rename the body of water the “Gulf of America,” a change that has since been implemented across government agencies.
However, since other nations do not acknowledge the new name and the AP serves a global audience, it has continued to refer to the body of water as the Gulf of Mexico while also noting Trump’s directive.
Several other international news organizations have made similar editorial choices. Despite this, the White House singled out the AP this week and barred its reporters from presidential events.
Just before Trump left the White House for Mar-a-Lago on Friday, the administration confirmed that the AP would also be denied access to Air Force One for the trip.
In a statement posted on X, deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich cited the dispute over the Gulf’s name, claiming the AP’s editorial 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,” Budowich 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.”
He noted that AP journalists would still retain access to the White House grounds. However, barring the AP from what are known as “pooled” events, including Air Force One flights, directly impedes its ability to report on the presidency.
The “press pool” is a select group of journalists who travel with the president at all times, gathering and sharing crucial information with the broader press corps. The AP has played a pivotal role in White House reporting for decades and was instrumental in establishing the pool system.
“The first known instance of a so-called pool reporter inside the White House was in 1881 after President James A. Garfield was shot,” the AP explained earlier this week. “As the chief executive lay in bed, AP reporter Franklin Trusdell sat outside his sick room, listening to him breathe and sharing updates with other correspondents.”
Since then, the AP, a cooperative that distributes news to thousands of media outlets, has remained a key part of the White House press pool.
The AP did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Friday’s statement.
The news agency has repeatedly indicated that it is preparing to take legal action. As one AP staff member, speaking anonymously, put it, “It’s hard to come up with a clearer case of viewpoint discrimination.”
The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA), which oversees the press pool’s composition, currently includes the AP in its daily rotation. However, with the ban now in effect, this arrangement may come under review.
On Thursday, the WHCA, which represents the White House press corps, condemned the administration’s actions, stating that the move against the AP “is a textbook violation of not only the First Amendment, but the president’s own executive order on freedom of speech and ending federal censorship.”