The news agency Associated Press (AP) has filed a lawsuit against the administration of Donald Trump after its journalists were denied access to presidential events. The reason was their refusal to call the Gulf of Mexico the “American Gulf,” as required by a new U.S. government directive. NPR reports on the issue.
In its lawsuit, AP states that journalists and news organizations should have the right to use the historical name of the gulf, despite the newly approved designation by U.S. authorities.
According to AP, its journalists have been stripped of accreditation for events in the Oval Office, denied access to board the presidential aircraft Air Force One, and barred from private meetings at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and other locations designated for White House press representatives.
In response, the Trump administration told NPR that the AP lawsuit was “ridiculous and absurd.” White House spokesperson Steven Cheung also criticized AP journalists, claiming they are “obsessed with anti-Trump bias” and act with prejudice.
On January 24, the U.S. Department of the Interior officially ordered the renaming of several geographic locations, including changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “American Gulf.”
