WH Bars AP Reporter Over Refusal to Cite Gulf of America

The White House blocked an Associated Press reporter from an event in the Oval Office on Tuesday after demanding the news agency alter its style on the Gulf of Mexico, which was renamed Gulf of America after an executive order by President Donald Trump.

The reporter tried to enter the White House event Tuesday afternoon and was turned away, AP executives said. The ban, which Trump officials threatened earlier Tuesday unless the AP changed the style on the Gulf, could have First Amendment implications.

Julie Pace, senior vice president and executive editor of The Associated Press, called the administration's move unacceptable.

"It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism," Pace said in a statement. "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 Trump administration made no immediate announcements about the move, and there was no indication any other journalists were affected.

Before his Jan. 20 inauguration, Trump announced plans to change the Gulf of Mexico's name to the "Gulf of America" — and signed an executive order to do so as soon as he was in office. Mexico's president responded sarcastically, and others noted that the name change would probably not affect global usage.

This week, Google Maps began using "Gulf of America," saying it had a "longstanding practice" of following the U.S. government's lead on such matters. The other leading online map provider, Apple Maps, was still using "Gulf of Mexico."

The AP said last month, three days after Trump's inauguration, that it would continue to refer to the Gulf of Mexico while noting Trump's decision to rename it. As a global news agency that disseminates news around the world, the AP said it must ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences.

The executive order on the Gulf of America also reinstated Mount McKinley, after the 25th president, in Alaska instead of its Indigenous name, Denali. President Barack Obama ordered it renamed Denali in 2015. The AP said last month it will use the official name change to Mount McKinley because the area lies solely in the U.S. and Trump has the authority to change federal geographical names within the country.