White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was accused of retaliating against the press when she explained why an Associated Press reporter was barred from some events.
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order changing the "Gulf of Mexico" to the "Gulf of America." The order also reversed an Obama-era decision and changed the name of the Alaskan mountain "Denali" back to "Mount McKinley."
Typically, changing a geographic name involves a lengthy process, taking at least six months as the U.S. Board on Geographic Names consults with states, tribes, mapmakers, and other stakeholders. However, Trump’s order called for the change to take effect within just 30 days.
Google has stated it will update the name on its maps once it is reflected in official government records. While other countries are not required to adopt the new name, international organizations would need to address any inconsistencies.
During a press briefing on Wednesday, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins questioned Leavitt about the reasoning behind barring Associated Press reporters from an Oval Office event the previous day. Julie Pace, the executive editor of the AP, stated that the exclusion was due to the outlet’s refusal to adopt Trump’s newly mandated name for the Gulf of Mexico, instead continuing to use its original designation.
Leavitt explained the matter this way:
“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. And nobody has the right to go into the Oval Office and ask a president of the United States questions, that is an invitation that is given."
"And 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, and you all have credentials to be here including the Associated Press who is in this briefing room today.”
Collins pressed further, asking whether the AP’s exclusion set a “precedent” for the administration to retaliate against media outlets that use “language” it does not approve of:
“But isn’t it retaliatory in nature, is the argument, because the reason that the AP was barred, which they said was because they are not using the phrase Gulf of America, they are using Gulf of Mexico in line with their standards."
"And so the question here is, is this setting a precedent where this White House will retaliate against reporters who don’t use the language you guys believe reporters should use and how does that align with the First Amendment commitment that you were just talking about?”
Leavitt responded:
“I was upfront on day one if we feel that there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable, and it is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America, and I am 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, and geographical identification name server, and Apple has recognized that, Google has recognized that, pretty much every outlet in this room has recognized that body of water as the Gulf of America, and it’s very important to the said administration that we get that right, not just for people here at home but also for the rest of the world.”
You can watch their exchange in the video below.
COLLINS: Which White House official made the decision to bar the AP reporter? LEAVITT: It is a privilege to cover this WH C: Isn't this retaliatory? LEAVITT: It is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America
[image or embed]
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) February 12, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Leavitt was swiftly criticized.
If the only people there are friendly press, then there is no news value to these pressers.
— Summer (@mwsl.bsky.social) February 12, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Translation- if you don’t report what we want you to, we will ban you. Classic censorship!!! Clear violation of their first amendment rights!
— sanityrules.bsky.social (@sanityrules.bsky.social) February 12, 2025 at 3:53 PM
It’s not a privilege. Freedom of the press is a constitutional duty. Not that they care.
— DoreenG (@dorgal.bsky.social) February 12, 2025 at 1:58 PM
With her absolute dedication to Dear Leader, Karoline would have made a good wife in 1930s Germany
— DumpDrumpf (@dumpdrumpf.bsky.social) February 12, 2025 at 2:57 PM
"It's Gulf of America because one entitled petty little man said so and he is the Voice of God."
— Meat Middleton (@meatus67.bsky.social) February 12, 2025 at 3:42 PM
A fact? The gaslighting is intolerable.
— Vanessa Theme Ament (@vtament.bsky.social) February 12, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Did they have a contest to pick the dumbest person to serve as WH press secretary?
— onefinekitty.bsky.social (@onefinekitty.bsky.social) February 12, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Everyone knows it is retaliatory. Everyone knows Leavitt and The Party lies.
— thaiboxerken.bsky.social (@thaiboxerken.bsky.social) February 12, 2025 at 1:52 PM
The Associated Press said last month it would use Trump's name change for Denali but not the Gulf of Mexico, per Amanda Barrett, the AP’s vice president of standards and inclusion. The AP has maintained its usage of "Gulf of Mexico," citing its longstanding global recognition and consistency.
The AP emphasized its role as a global news agency that delivers information to an international audience, requiring it to use widely recognized geographic names.
The agency noted that, in some instances, it refers to locations by multiple names. For example, while the U.S. identifies the body of water east of Baja California as the Gulf of California, Mexico refers to it as the Sea of Cortez.
