Donald Trump Says White House Will Prohibit Associated Press From Events Until They Agree To Rename Gulf Of Mexico

Donald Trump weighed in directly for the first time on his efforts to freeze out the Associated Press from White House events because the news service declined to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

The AP, the White House Correspondents’ Association and First Amendment groups have condemned the White House’s actions as an effort to punish journalists for content they dislike. Trump pitched himself as restoring free speech to the federal government, but they have used various tactics to try to stymie news outlets.

Speaking to reporters at Mar-a-Lago today, Trump said, “The Associated Press just refuses to go with what the law is, and what has taken place. It’s called the Gulf of America now. It’s not called the Gulf of Mexico any longer. I have the right to do it.”

“We are going to keep them out until such time that they agree it is the Gulf of America.”

He also cited AP coverage of him, Republicans and conservatives, and said, “They are doing us no favors and I guess I am doing them no favors.”

The AP last week was banned from an Oval Office pool, and later from attending a press conference and travel on Air Force One. The stated reason was the news organization’s decision to retain the name Gulf of Mexico in its style guide after Trump signed an executive order renaming it as the Gulf of America.

The AP said that the decision was made to retain the name Gulf of Mexico because it is an international body of water. The AP noted that Trump’s order “only carries authority within the United States. Mexico, as well as other countries and international bodies, do not have to recognize the name change.” The AP said that it would still acknowledge the name that Trump had chosen.

An AP spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment about Trump’s latest remarks.