The White House banned an Associated Press reporter from the Oval Office on Feb. 11, after AP refused to call the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America,” after President Donald Trump’s executive order renamed the body of water. The executive order directly affects usage by the federal government but holds no force outside the U.S.
The unnamed reporter attempted to enter the White House on Feb. 11 for an event but was turned away. A second AP reporter was also banned from attending another event later that night in the White House’s Diplomatic Reception Room.
The news agency says its journalists remained blocked from major events at the Oval Office, Air Force One, Trump’s private estate in Florida, Mar-a-Lago and other locations where journalists with White House press credentials are routinely welcomed.
Julie Pace, AP’s senior vice president and executive editor, 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.”
AP filed a lawsuit against the White House on Feb. 21, filed by attorneys from the Ballard Spahr law firm. They allege that the White House’s removal of reporters was in direct violation of the First Amendment. “The Constitution does not allow the government to control speech. Allowing such government control and retaliation to stand is a threat to every American’s freedom,” the lawsuit stated.
“They are clearly suffering from a severe, debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted their peanut-sized brains,” White House spokesperson Steven Cheung said in response to AP’s lawsuit.
