The Associated Press has reported that its journalist and photographer were barred from US President Donald Trump’s press conference with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office on Monday. The White House excluded the AP news team despite a court order restoring their access.
In February, Trump barred AP from most presidential events after the news agency refused to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the ‘Gulf of America’ in its reporting. Trump officially renamed the gulf in January.
“As a global news agency that disseminates information worldwide, the AP must ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences,” the outlet said at the time.
Last week, a federal court in Washington, DC, ruled that the ban violated the First Amendment. “Under the First Amendment, if the government opens its doors to some journalists –be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere –it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints,” Judge Trevor N. McFadden wrote. The White House is appealing the ruling.
According to AP, its reporters remain barred from the Oval Office and Air Force One but receive “sporadic access” to other locations, including briefings by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Trump has frequently attacked what he calls “the lying media,” accusing journalists of spreading “fake news” about him and his administration. Last month, Leavitt criticized an AP reporter for asking what she called an “insulting” question about Trump’s tariff policy.
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