The White House prevented an AP reporter on Tuesday to cover an event in the Oval office after demanding the news agency to alter its style about the Gulf of Mexico.
The White House Correspondents Association protested Tuesday for a White House decision to prohibit an Associated Press journalist attending an event with President Donald Trump due to the decision of the news agency to continue referring to the Gulf from Mexico.
Trump signed an executive order in January that ordered the Secretary of the Interior to change the name to Gulf of America.
“The White House cannot dictate how news organizations report the news, nor should the journalists in exercise Posted in X.
He added that “the government's decision to prohibit a reporter from Associated Press Attending an official event open to news coverage today is unacceptable. “
The executive editor of APJulie Pace said in a previous statement that she had been forbidden to attend an event in the Oval office after the White House informed her that she would do so unless she align her editorial standards with the Trump order.
“It is alarming that Trump's government punish AP for his independent journalism,” Pace said, added that limiting access violated the first amendment of the United States Constitution that guarantees press freedom.
AP He says in his style book that the Gulf of Mexico has taken that name for more than 400 years and, as a global news agency, AP He will refer to him by his original name although he will recognize the new name Trump has chosen.
The White House did not immediately respond to comments on the statements of the Association and the AP. Mexico's Foreign Ministry also did not respond immediately to a comment request on Tuesday.
Like the United States, Mexico has an extensive coast that surrounds the body of water. In January, the Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, suggested jokingly that North America, including the United States, was renamed “Mexican America”, a historical name used in an old map of the region.
Most news organizations, including Reutersthey call it the Gulf of Mexico, although, when it is relevant, the style of Reuters It is to include the context of Trump's executive order.