The White House took the unprecedented step on Thursday of preventing an Associated Press journalist from attending an event for the third consecutive day. The decision followed the news agency’s refusal to adopt President Trump’s new designation for the Gulf of Mexico, which he now calls the Gulf of America. The AP’s response was one of strong condemnation, as the media organization announced the exclusion of its reporter from the coverage of a press conference featuring President Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
AP Executive Editor Julie Pace expressed her concern over the situation, criticizing the action in a public statement. “The decision by the White House to block an AP reporter from an open press conference with President Trump and Prime Minister Modi is a deeply troubling escalation of the administration’s efforts to punish The Associated Press for its editorial decisions,” Pace stated.
The White House had previously asserted that any news outlets that failed to adopt the new title for the Gulf of Mexico were being dishonest. In addition, officials indicated that they would persist in barring AP journalists from attending presidential events if the outlet maintained its stance on the matter. Trump’s decision to rebrand the body of water as the Gulf of America was in direct conflict with the AP’s continued use of the Gulf of Mexico, as stated in the agency’s editorial guidelines.
In a letter sent to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles on Wednesday, Pace recounted a meeting between AP’s reporter and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt earlier that week. Leavitt allegedly warned that AP’s access to the Oval Office would be restricted unless the outlet complied with the President’s demand to alter its editorial policy. “This is now the third day AP reporters have been barred from covering the president … an incredible disservice to the billions of people who rely on The Associated Press for nonpartisan news,” Pace remarked in the letter.
{Matzav.com}