Banned AP from White House Over "Gulf of Mexico"
The White House banned Associated Press reporters from Oval Office events because AP refused to rename the Gulf of Mexico as "Gulf of America." The U.S. dropped to 57th in the World Press Freedom Index — its lowest ranking ever.
In February 2025, the White House banned Associated Press reporters from covering Oval Office events and Air Force One trips in retaliation for the AP's editorial decision not to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America" in its reporting.
The attack on press freedom escalated further:
- A federal appeals court upheld the ban in a 2-1 ruling
- The White House took over control of the press pool from the White House Correspondents' Association after more than 100 years of press self-governance
- 170 assaults on journalists were reported in 2025, with 160 committed by law enforcement
- The United States dropped to 57th in the World Press Freedom Index — the lowest ranking ever recorded for the U.S.
Banning the AP — the largest and oldest news agency in America, founded in 1846 — over a geographic naming dispute was a stark demonstration that press access to the White House was now conditional on editorial compliance with the administration's preferences.