WATCH: Karoline Leavitt severely spanks major news agency for intentional deception
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has publicly explained why two Associated Press reporters were denied access to White House events: Their organization is pushing a “lie” by continuing to refer to the body of water off the coast of Louisiana as the Gulf of Mexico.
President Donald Trump, on his first day in office, ordered it renamed the “Gulf of America” and that was done for official government references. Apple and Google also have made that change. On Super Bowl Sunday this week, he designated Feb. 9 as “Gulf of America Day.”
But AP, claiming that it needed to make its references easily recognizable for all audiences, said it would not change, although it would note Trump’s announcement.
AP, which has held dictatorial power in journalism for decades by assembling and distributing its own journalism stylebook, which often has moved into advocacy for leftist ideals in recent years, released a statement from spokeswoman Julie Pace, who said, “It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism. 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.”
Leavitt explained how that thinking was faulty:
KAITLAN COLLINS: Which Trump official barred the AP from the Oval Office event yesterday over not using the “Gulf of America” language?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: We are holding lies accountable. The body of water is called the “Gulf of America” – that is a fact. The Secretary of… pic.twitter.com/KWLsY8EyXX
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) February 12, 2025
Asked about the barred reporters, she said, “First of all, let me just set the record straight. It is a privilege to cover this White House. It is a privilege to be the White House press secretary. Nobody has the ‘right’ to go into the Oval Office and ask the president of the United States questions. That is an invitation that is given.”
She noted, “There are hundreds of outlets on this campus, many of you in this room, who don’t have the privilege of being part of that pool every single day, and getting to ask the president questions.
“We reserve the right to decide who gets to go into the Oval Office.”
She then was asked about the reasons.
“I was very upfront in my briefing on day one that if we feel there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable,” she said, “It is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America. And I’m not sure why news outlets don’t want to call it that, but that is what it is.
“The secretary of Interior has made that the official designation, Apple has recognized that, Google has recognized that. Pretty much every other outlet in this room has recognized that body of water as the Gulf of America. And it’s very important to this administration that we get that right, not just for people here at home but for also for the rest of the world.”
Trump’s agenda, of course, is the Make America Great Again plan, and his design is to promote the presence of America, and its influence, everywhere.
AP itself reported two reporters were turned away from different events on Tuesday.
The agency reported Tim Richardson, of PEN America, claimed that the decision was “an affront to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which bars the government from impeding the freedom of the press.”
Also putting itself in an antagonistic position to Trump, the White House Correspondents Association, a private organization that imposes its ideologies on seating charts at White House press events, called it unacceptable.
While news organizations may say denying their access to the White House is a First Amendment issue, that question is cloudy, as they are among the few – out of thousands of news organizations nationwide – that have been given that access as a privilege. The decision actually imposes no control over what that reporting agency writes.
Of course, Trump’s renaming of the gulf does not necessarily affect what other nations may label it.