USA: RSF demands the White House fully restore the AP’s access — and let the press do its job
Trump administration officials barred two Associated Press (AP) reporters from covering White House events on Tuesday, February 11 because the independent news agency did not change its style guide to align with the president’s political agenda. The AP is being punished for using the term “Gulf of Mexico,” which the president renamed “Gulf of America” in a recent executive order. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns this flagrant violation of the First Amendment and demands the AP be given back its full ability to cover the White House.
“The level of pettiness displayed by the White House is so incredible that it almost hides the gravity of the situation. A sitting president is punishing a major news outlet for its constitutionally protected choice of words. Donald Trump has been trampling over press freedom since his first day in office.”
Clayton Weimers
Executive Director, RSF USA
AP was informed by the White House on Tuesday that its organization would be barred from accessing an event if it did not align with the executive order, a statement from Executive Editor Julie Pace said. The news organization reported that a first AP reporter was turned away Tuesday afternoon as they tried to enter a White House event. Later that day, a second AP reporter was barred from a separate event in the White House Diplomatic Room. “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,” the AP statement said.
Unrelenting attacks on the press
Shortly after he was inaugurated on January 20, President Trump signed an executive order “restoring freedom of speech,” which proclaimed: “It is the policy of the United States to ensure that no Federal Government officer, employee, or agent engages in or facilitates any conduct that would unconstitutionally abridge the free speech of any American citizen.”
Yet the president’s subsequent actions have continually proved that this statement is hollow when it comes to freedom of the press. Prior to barring an AP reporter, the Trump administration launched FCC investigations into public broadcasters NPR and PBS as well as the private television network CBS. It has restricted press access to the Pentagon and arbitrarily removed freelance journalists from White House press pool briefings. In a startling withdrawal of transparency, it removed scores of government webpages and datasets and barred many agency press teams from speaking publicly. What’s more, the president is personally suing multiple news organizations over their constitutionally protected editorial decisions.
The United States is ranked 55th out of 180 countries and territories, according to the 2024 RSF World Press Freedom Index.
