AP journalists will not be allowed on board the US presidentʼs plane — they do not call the Gulf of Mexico American

The administration of the US President Donald Trump has restricted access to the Oval Office and Air Force One for Associated Press (AP) journalists.

This was announced by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budovich.

The decision was based on the fact that the agency “continues to ignore the legal change in the geographical name of the Gulf of America”, which “causes controversy”. The AP employees refer to the body of water as the Gulf of Mexico.

“While their right to irresponsible and dishonest reporting is protected by the First Amendment [of the US Constitution], it does not guarantee them the privilege of unfettered access to restricted spaces such as the Oval Office and flight deck number one,” Taylor Budovich said.

He added that in the future, the space will be open to "many thousands" of reporters who were previously barred from working there. Associated Press reporters and photographers will retain their credentials on the White House complex.

The Associated Press is an independent American news agency founded in 1846. AP is known for its objective reporting, a network of journalists in over 100 countries, and high journalistic standards.

• On his second day in office, January 21, Donald Trump signed an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. This change will be applied to all maps and documents of the US federal government.
• The Gulf of Mexico has already appeared on Google Maps. According to CNN, the new name is visible on the maps to US residents, while Mexicans will still see the old name, the Gulf of Mexico. Users around the world are seeing two names for the body of water: the Gulf of Mexico is the second, shown in parentheses.
• The other day, an agency correspondent was not allowed into the Oval Office, where Trump was signing a new executive order. The explanation was that the agency first had to align its editorial standards with the presidentʼs decree on renaming the reservoir.

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