The Trump administration has been accused of violating the First Amendment after an Associated Press reporter was barred from attending an Oval Office event.
The news agency said it was given an ultimatum over its editorial decision to refer to the Gulf of Mexico by its original name “while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen.”
As a result, a reporter was barred from attending an executive order signing with Elon Musk on Tuesday, the AP said in a statement.
“Today we were informed by the White House that if AP did not align its editorial standards with President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, AP would be barred from accessing an event in the Oval Office. This afternoon AP’s reporter was blocked from attending an executive order signing,” the agency’s Executive Editor Julie Pace said in a statement.
“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.”
The sentiment was shared by the National Press Club, which said the Trump administration’s decision to bar the AP reporter was “ a direct attack on press freedom.”
“Barring a journalist from an official event because their newsroom refuses to conform to government-imposed language is more than an attack on one reporter or outlet — it is an assault on the First Amendment and the public’s right to know,” the club’s president Mike Balsamo said in a statement.
Balsamo urged the Trump administration “to immediately reverse course.”
“Anything less sets a dangerous precedent and erodes the fundamental values of a free society,” he added.
The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.
Trump signed the executive order titled “Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness” on his first day in office on January 20 after insisting that the gulf should celebrate the U.S. rather than Mexico.
The Gulf of Mexico has carried its name since the 17th century, but the rebrand came into effect across the nation on Monday. Both names appear to Google Maps users outside of the country but in Mexico it will retain its traditional name.
Explaining the decision not to change its style, the AP said that because it caters to audiences around the globe, it “must ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences.”
The agency also referenced Trump’s executive order to revert the name of Denali in Alaska, North America’s tallest peak, to Mount McKinley, which it would reflect in reporting from now on.
“The area lies solely in the United States and as president, Trump has the authority to change federal geographical names within the country,” the agency said.
