The Trump administration has banned The Associated Press (AP) from visiting the Oval Office and Air Force One indefinitely. The move comes after President Donald Trump’s decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” which other countries do not recognize.
The AP, one of the world’s largest news outlets, was barred from presidential events this week, with photographers allowed to attend. However, they will no longer be granted access to Air Force One for trips. The White House claims that the ban is due to the AP’s supposed commitment to misinformation and its divisive reporting on the Gulf issue.
The move affects the AP’s ability to cover the president’s activities and share information with the wider press corps. The AP has been a member of the “press pool” since 1881, which includes reporters who travel with the president at all times. The wire service has signaled that it plans to challenge the ban in court.
The White House Correspondents Association has criticized the action as a “textbook violation of the First Amendment and the president’s own executive order on freedom of speech.”
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/14/media/white-house-ap-ban-air-force-one-oval-office-gulf-of-mexico/index.html