President Donald Trump has ignited a media showdown, doubling down on his White House ban of the Associated Press (AP) over its refusal to adopt the term “Gulf of America” instead of “Gulf of Mexico.”
“They’re doing us no favors, and I guess I’m not doing them any favors—that’s the way life works,” Trump quipped on Tuesday during a signing event at Mar-a-Lago.
The controversy erupted on Friday when Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich announced on X that AP journalists would be barred from the Oval Office and Air Force One until the news organization conformed to the administration’s preferred terminology. Throughout the week, AP reporters and photographers found themselves locked out of White House events, escalating tensions between the press and the administration.
The stakes escalated further when longtime AP White House correspondent Darlene Superville and photographer Ben Curtis were blocked from boarding Air Force One ahead of Trump’s Florida departure. Despite multiple attempts to regain access, the AP team remained sidelined as Trump’s aides enforced the unprecedented restriction.
When pressed on what it would take for him to reconsider the ban, Trump stood firm. “It’s called the Gulf of America now. It’s not called the Gulf of Mexico any longer,” he asserted. “I have the right to do it.”
The decision mirrors Trump’s previous efforts to rename landmarks, such as when he sought to restore the Alaska peak Denali to its former name, Mount McKinley, after the Obama administration officially recognized the native Alaskan title. “Nobody was challenging that name change,” Trump pointed out, emphasizing his stance on rebranding the Gulf.
Beyond the geographic naming dispute, Trump’s friction with the AP extends to its editorial policies. The AP’s decision to capitalize “Black” while keeping “white” in lowercase has long frustrated Trump allies, as has the organization’s guidance against using terms like “illegal immigrant.” The AP has also come under fire from conservatives for referring to gender-transition procedures as “gender-affirming care.”
“Some of the phrases they want to use are ridiculous,” Trump said. “And I think, frankly, they’ve become obsolete—especially in the last three weeks. Because many things have happened in the last three weeks.”
Trump further hinted that his grievances with the AP date back to the 2020 election, which he continues to claim was stolen due to widespread Democratic fraud. “The Associated Press has been very, very wrong on the election, on Trump, on the treatment of Trump, and on many things having to do with Republicans and conservatives,” he complained.
With the AP locked out, the White House press landscape has shifted, leaving other media outlets to navigate the turbulent relationship between the administration and the press corps. As long as the AP holds its ground on “Gulf of Mexico,” its access to Trump’s White House remains uncertain.
